One figure in this crypto market downturn deserves more attention than how far BTC has fallen: over the past 24 hours, liquidations across the crypto market exceeded $1.1 billion, with the vast majority coming from long positions.

As of November 9, BTC was trading around $74,500, after briefly falling below $74,000 during the day, down about 1.5% to 2% over 24 hours. ETH was weaker, trading around $2,120 and down nearly 6%, while XRP fell about 5% to 7%.

But what really made the market nervous was a clear shift in the derivatives market. According to CoinDesk market data, crypto futures trading volume rose by more than 200% over the past 24 hours to about $180 billion, while open interest fell by around 3%. Liquidations across the market totaled about $1.16 billion.

Taken together, these figures suggest the market is going through a significant deleveraging of positions, not just an ordinary price pullback.

1. Why did ETH fall harder than BTC?

There was an interesting contrast in this market move: BTC’s market capitalization and level of attention are far higher than ETH’s, yet the liquidation amount for ETH was significantly greater than that for BTC.

Data shows that liquidations over the past 24 hours totaled about $498 million for ETH and about $305 million for BTC. ETH also fell below its 200-day moving average, the first time this has happened since August 18.

This has a lot to do with the market’s leverage structure.

When prices are rising, many traders use contracts to increase the size of their positions. As the market continues to climb and bullish sentiment builds, some traders may increase their leverage.

If the price suddenly breaks below a key level, an account may no longer have enough margin, prompting the trading platform to forcibly close the position according to its rules. These liquidated long positions create additional selling pressure, pushing prices down further.

The larger scale of liquidations in ETH suggests that the leveraged risks in long positions may have been more concentrated. For traders who regularly use contracts, this is more concerning than the price decline alone.

2. Why did futures trading volume surge 200% while open interest fell?

This is the data point I’ve been watching most closely during this market move.

Under normal circumstances, increased market activity and higher futures trading volume may indicate that more funds are entering the market. But this time was different: trading volume rose sharply while open interest fell.

There’s no contradiction between the two.

Trading volume measures how many trades were completed over a period of time, while open interest reflects the size of contracts that have not yet been closed in the market.

Put simply, a surge in trading volume means trading is very active, but falling open interest indicates that many existing positions are being closed. It doesn’t mean an equivalent amount of new capital is continuously flowing in.

This is especially true during mass liquidations, when forced closures, voluntary stop-losses, and position adjustments all drive up trading volume.

So, futures trading volume of around $180 billion this time shouldn’t be interpreted as the market receiving $180 billion in new funds. It mainly reflects traders rapidly adjusting their positions amid sharp price swings.

3. Another important signal emerged during this downturn: the market began buying downside protection

In addition to spot prices and futures data, the options market also saw a shift.

According to CoinDesk’s market analysis, BTC’s one-week implied volatility rose from around 33% to about 43%, while ETH’s increased from around 46% to about 60%.

At the same time, demand for put options increased noticeably, suggesting that some traders were beginning to protect themselves against further declines.

This contrasts with the market’s previously widespread bullish bias.

I think this shows that investors’ focus is shifting from pursuing price gains to managing risk in extreme market conditions.

For ordinary users, it is especially important to keep a few things in mind when trading contracts: don’t focus only on potential returns and overlook the liquidation price, don’t blindly increase leverage after a prolonged rally, and don’t concentrate all your available funds in one direction.

4. When the market is uncertain, how you trade matters more than predicting its direction

This is also one of the reasons I’ve been paying closer attention to BiyaPay lately.

For people who usually hold U and trade BTC and ETH, the digital asset market isn’t the only financial market worth exploring. With U as one of its core funding methods, BiyaPay offers not only spot and contract trading in digital assets, but also access to various markets, including U.S. stocks, Hong Kong stocks, and commodity futures.

For digital asset trading, the platform advertises zero fees on spot and contract trading, as well as features related to zero Maker fees. Please check the actual page for applicable order types and trading conditions.

If you don’t want to focus all your attention on crypto, you can also explore the platform’s services for trading actual U.S. and Hong Kong stocks using U. It advertises commission-free U.S. stock trading and supports the corresponding dividend entitlements, while also offering a feature to convert U to U.S. dollars.

The platform also offers flexible savings, with an advertised maximum annualized yield of 10.22%. The specific yield calculations, redemption terms, and product risks should be verified separately.

I think the most noteworthy thing here isn’t how appealing any one feature is, but that funds can be allocated differently depending on their intended use. Spot trading, contracts, stocks, and wealth management are not the same kind of product, and shouldn’t be assessed using the same risk criteria.

5. Three indicators I’ll be watching closely next

First, whether ETH can reclaim its 200-day moving average. If the price remains below the moving average while open interest continues to decline, the market may need more time to absorb the leverage built up earlier.

Next, BTC’s funding rate and open interest. If the price continues to fall while leveraged positions gradually shrink, the market structure may be changing. If the price rebounds and leverage rapidly builds up again, be alert to the risk of positions becoming concentrated once more.

Finally, spot market fund flows. Futures trading volume can surge suddenly due to short-term volatility, but what really matters is whether spot buying can continue to absorb selling pressure, and whether institutional investors are rebuilding their positions.

This liquidation wave of more than $1.1 billion is another reminder of an important point: the market is not necessarily at its most dangerous when prices have already fallen sharply. The risk may be greatest when many traders still believe they can accurately predict the next move and use leverage to amplify that conviction.

I’m more inclined to view this market move as a restructuring of positions. For those following crypto, U.S. stocks, and global assets, understanding the trading rules of different markets and managing the risk of individual positions is more important than simply guessing whether BTC will rise or fall next.

This article is for informational purposes only. Please do your own analysis and make your own decisions. It is not investment advice. Avoid unnecessary losses!