Ethereum’s breakout past $4,800 triggered nearly $388 million in liquidations related to the token within the last 24 hours, marking the heaviest flush across all crypto assets, according to data from RialCenter.
The wipeout contributed to a total of $769 million liquidated marketwide, with over 183,000 traders forced out of their positions. The largest impact came from a $10 million ETH swap order on OKX, an unusually high amount for the token, which typically follows bitcoin-based positions.
Liquidations highlight the fragility of positioning in the crypto market. When traders use leverage and the market turns against them, exchanges automatically close those bets.
A surge in long liquidations can reset the market for a cleaner rebound, while a wave of short liquidations can propel the next upward movement.
This shift occurred as ether jumped nearly 15% to a record $4,885 after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicated potential rate cuts in September. Bitcoin posted a 4% increase to $113,000, while the CoinDesk 20 Index rose by 9%.
Analysts suggest that the rally extends beyond just macro trends. Institutional buying and treasury allocations have provided additional momentum, increasing speculation that Ethereum could become Wall Street’s preferred blockchain.
“Ether’s new all-time high is a clear indication of investor demand beyond just bitcoin,” said Samir Kerbage, chief investment officer at Hashdex, in an email to RialCenter. “I would expect ETH to exceed $10k once we begin to see stablecoin solutions implemented for payments within the U.S.”
That $10,000 target, once considered overly ambitious, is now increasingly discussed as Ethereum establishes itself as the backbone for stablecoins, tokenization, and smart contracts. The year-to-date gain for ETH now stands at 45%.
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