The crypto world was shaken on Friday after a massive $20 billion liquidation event wiped out leveraged positions across major exchanges. According to Jonathan Man, portfolio manager at Bitwise, this was one of the largest and most chaotic sell-offs in crypto history. The crash saw Bitcoin (BTC) plunge 13% within an hour, while several long-tail tokens fell even harder, exposing thin liquidity across markets.

Man explained that over $65 billion in open interest was erased — effectively resetting market positioning to levels last seen in July. With liquidity drying up, traders faced “air pockets,” where prices dropped sharply before rebounding. Centralized exchanges experienced the most extreme dislocations, as order books thinned and tokens like ATOM briefly collapsed to near zero on some platforms.

Interestingly, decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms held up better. Man credited this to strong guardrails — protocols like Aave and Morpho limited cascading liquidations by fixing the USDe stablecoin at $1. Meanwhile, liquidity vaults such as Hyperliquid’s HLP saw heavy activity, buying distressed assets at deep discounts and selling into quick rebounds.
any update click

While Friday’s $20B crypto market meltdown rattled traders, it also cleaned out excessive leverage. Man noted that markets entered the weekend on firmer footing, offering potential opportunities for investors with available capital. Still, the event served as a reminder of how quickly conditions can change in crypto and why risk management remains critical.