Crypto Bloodbath: Whale Dump Triggers $800M in Liquidations Overnight

On Sunday, August 25th, 2025, the crypto market faced a meltdown caused by a massive sell order. A Bitcoin Whale sold 24,000 BTC in one go, worth around $2.6 million in Bitcoin, causing a ripple effect that led to a liquidation of $273 million worth of Bitcoin positions within 24 hours.

Image of $BTC

At ~$110K per BTC, this massive dump by a whale overwhelmed buy orders and led to a sharp fall in prices. Bitcoin's price dropped from ~$117K to ~$110K after Sunday. Traders longing for Bitcoin using leverage witnessed a 6% drop in prices within hours, leading to the liquidation of a large share of the over-leveraged positions.

According to data from CoinGlass, the whale dump on Sunday led to over $800 million in liquidations across the crypto market. Ethereum had the maximum exposure to the damage with $296 million in liquidations. Sources say that the market witnessed $322.85 million in ETH liquidations (primarily longs) and $264.73 million in BTC liquidations.

Total liquidations across all crypto markets reached one of the all-time highs of ~$942 million, mostly from long positions. Ethereum plunged by 8%, Solana (SOL), Dogecoin (DOGE), Cardano (ADA), and Chainlink (LINK) fell by 6–8%, and the crypto derivatives liquidations jumped to ~$700 million, of which $627 million was attributable to longs.

It was one of the most violent crashes experienced by traders because many were using high leverage after BTC touched an all-time high a couple of weeks back ($117K). Another prominent reason for this crash is thin liquidity on weekends. The smaller number of traders and lower volume of transactions during weekends made the whale's dump more ruthless.

Furthermore, the sell order caused each liquidation to add more sell pressure, magnifying the fall.

Major Takeaways:

1. This whale dump is a reminder for traders to know that even with BTC rallying near $117K (bullish market), a single whale move can trigger such colossal selloffs.

2. Traders who are eager to take on leverage are more vulnerable during such huge sell orders. These market crashes show that the higher the leverage, the higher the risk.

   
   

More importantly, these sell-offs often shake a trader's confidence, leading to panic selling.

Is hope closer than you think?

Well, historical data shows that flash crashes tend to be bought up quickly in a bullish trend. Analysts are keeping a close eye on whether more whales are coming forward with huge sell orders. They are also monitoring for signs of new buyers (institutions, ETF inflows, retail, etc). Another crucial factor analysts are watching for is whether Bitcoin can hold support at the $110K level.

Despite the panic, past trends show that Bitcoin has often rebounded from sudden market crashes and climbed new highs once selling pressure falls. Analysts believe that if there are institutional inflows, ETF adoption, and a steady rise in mainstream interest, the current fall could be a blessing in disguise, paving the way for a buying opportunity.