Sometimes, the most dangerous moment in the market isn’t when prices start falling—it’s when you realize you no longer have time to choose.

On November 13, Bitcoin suddenly fell below the key $70,000 level, hitting an intraday low of around $68,408. It was down about 7% over 24 hours, reaching its lowest level since August.

Ethereum also failed to hold above $2,000, falling to around $1,921. BNB, XRP, and other major assets also came under widespread pressure.

But what caught my attention most in this market move wasn’t how far BTC fell, but the massive wave of forced liquidations across the market.

According to CoinGlass data, total liquidations across the market reached about $1.47 billion over the past 24 hours. Long positions accounted for about $1.31 billion, affecting more than 175,000 traders.

Meanwhile, the Fear and Greed Index fell to 20, entering the extreme fear zone.

These figures show that the market is experiencing more than an ordinary price pullback; there's also been a clear unwinding of leveraged risk.

1. Why did some people lose most of their capital when BTC fell just 7%?

Here's something many beginners tend to overlook.

Spot and futures trading can result in completely different losses in response to the same price movement.

Here's a simple example.

Suppose someone puts up 10,000 USDT and opens a 10x leveraged BTC long position. The notional value of the position they control is then 100,000 USDT.

If BTC falls 5%, the position would incur an unrealized loss of about 5,000 USDT, assuming for simplicity that we don't account for trading fees, funding rates, or changes in margin.

That's half of the initial capital.

With 20x leverage, the same 5% move in the wrong direction would theoretically result in a loss of 10,000 USDT, equal to the entire initial margin.

In actual trading, factors such as maintenance margin, fees, and liquidation rules also come into play, so liquidation can happen sooner.

That's why, during a crash, many people think they've only misread the market by a little, only to find that their account losses far exceed their expectations.

Leverage magnifies not only the potential for profit, but also the cost of getting it wrong.

2. Why did BTC falling below $70,000 trigger a chain reaction?

Many people see $70,000 as just another round-number price.

But in trading markets, round-number levels often have special significance.

That's because many traders set stop-losses, take-profits, and risk management plans around these levels, and the margin safety thresholds for some leveraged positions may also cluster nearby.

When the price falls below a key level, several things can happen in quick succession:

First, some traders manually cut their losses, increasing sell orders.

Second, leveraged longs run short of margin, and trading platforms liquidate them according to their rules.

Third, the sell orders generated by liquidations add further selling pressure to the market.

Fourth, if order-book liquidity is insufficient, the price may experience more pronounced slippage in a short period of time.

This is what the market often refers to as cascading liquidations.

It's important to note that not all orders around $70,000 are automatically triggered, and the specific distribution of stop-loss orders cannot be confirmed based on price movements alone.

But this time, the data shows that long liquidations reached $1.31 billion over the past 24 hours, clearly reflecting how the concentrated exit of leveraged positions amplified the market move.

So sometimes prices fall not simply because more investors suddenly turn bearish, but because people who were already holding long positions are forced to exit, adding to selling pressure.

3. This time, I'm paying closer attention to three easily overlooked signals

The first signal is ETH's performance.

ETH has fallen to around $1,920, dropping below the $2,000 mark.

When market liquidity contracts, different assets can perform quite differently. Investors shouldn't focus only on BTC's price movements; they also need to watch the relative strength of ETH and other major assets.

The second signal is the derivatives market.

When a large number of long positions are liquidated, open interest may also decline.

This means some leveraged risk is being unwound, but it doesn't mean the market has finished bottoming out.

The third signal is market sentiment.

The Fear and Greed Index has fallen to 20.

Extreme fear shows that investor sentiment has deteriorated significantly, but it isn't a reliable indicator for calling a market bottom. Historically, extreme fear can persist for a while, and prices may continue to fall.

So I don't agree with increasing position sizes immediately just because the market has fallen sharply.

4. During a crash, I think four things matter more than trying to find the bottom

First, distinguish between spot and futures trading.

If you're bullish on a digital asset for the long term, spot and leveraged futures have completely different risk profiles.

Spot holdings won't automatically trigger a leveraged liquidation due to ordinary price fluctuations, but they still carry the risk of the asset's price falling.

With futures, you also need to consider leverage, margin, and the liquidation price.

Second, calculate in advance how much loss you can afford to take.

Don't decide how much to buy first and only think about potential losses afterward.

A more sensible approach is to first determine the maximum loss you can tolerate, then work backward to calculate your position size.

Third, don't keep adding to your position just because the price is falling.

Especially when using leverage, repeatedly adding to a position can turn a risk that was originally limited into one that's impossible to control.

Fourth, keep funds that you genuinely need on hand.

Money for everyday payments, cross-border settlements, and living expenses shouldn't all be invested in highly volatile assets.

This market move has reminded me once again that the market never warns you in advance when extreme volatility is about to hit.

But we can decide in advance how much risk we're willing to take on.

5. Trading tools matter too, but low fees don't mean low risk

When using digital asset trading platforms, I usually focus on two things: trading costs and risk rules.

BiyaPay offers spot and futures trading in digital assets, with features including zero trading fees and zero Maker fees. Check the platform's current rules for details on eligibility.

For people who frequently switch between different assets, the platform also offers a quick conversion feature, where you can check real-time exchange quotes between U and other assets.

For example, if you hold U in your account but don't have a clear trading plan for now, you can first check the exchange quote and then manage your assets according to how you actually plan to use the funds.
BiyaPay also supports trading in actual U.S. and Hong Kong stocks. U.S. stock trades are commission-free, and the platform supports the associated dividend entitlements.

This also gives people who mainly trade crypto a way to explore traditional stock markets.

One thing must be made clear, though: low fees don't mean low trading risk, and the fact that a platform offers futures doesn't mean they're suitable for everyone. Especially in extreme market conditions, you need to understand leverage, margin, liquidation mechanisms, and potential slippage in advance.

I believe the value of trading tools lies in making fund management more convenient, not in encouraging myself to take on greater risks.

6. The more chaotic the market, the more important it is to stay in control

BTC falling below $69,000 has reminded many people of the harsh realities of leveraged trading.

A seemingly ordinary long position can be forcibly liquidated after a price move of just a few percentage points.

But I think this market move has also offered a valuable opportunity for reflection.

We spend a lot of time researching the next hot trend and predicting the next support level, but it's easy to overlook the most basic question: if we're wrong, will we still be able to stay in the market?

Going forward, I'll be watching to see whether BTC can reclaim $70,000, whether ETH can recover $2,000, and whether open interest and funding rates in the derivatives market gradually stabilize.

But until these signals appear, I'd rather put risk management ahead of market predictions.

There are new opportunities in the market every day, but your account may not have unlimited chances to start over.

A truly mature trader isn't someone who manages to buy the bottom in every crash, but someone who can still act according to their plan in the most extreme market conditions.

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