Bitcoin falls below $81K, triggering $485M in liquidations

Bitcoin slipped below $81,000 on October 8, 2026, and leveraged traders paid for it fast. Over $485 million in crypto positions were liquidated in a single hour, and most of them were longs. That also marks the first time Bitcoin has traded under $81,000 since mid-September. An hour of forced selling The intraday low landed somewhere between $80,350 and $80,500, depending on the data source. Estimates for the one-hour liquidation total ranged from $480 million to $489 million. The damage did not stop after the first hour. Across the full 24-hour window, total crypto liquidations surpassed $1 billion. Long positions accounted for approximately $930 million to $1.05 billion of that figure. Ethereum took an outsized share of the hit. ETH liquidations ranged from $294 million to $333 million, and in some analyses they exceeded Bitcoin’s own liquidation figures. The broader altcoin market moved in lockstep. Ethereum, XRP, Solana and Dogecoin all posted steep declines, closely tracking Bitcoin on the way down. The pressure came from several directions Start with bonds. The 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 5.31%, rising alongside Bitcoin’s decline. Then there is oil. Brent crude surged t...