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The cryptocurrency market experienced a significant shakeup on November 14, 2025, as liquidations totaling $1.1 billion rattled traders and investors alike. The vast majority of these liquidations, around $968 million, came from long positions, indicating a strong market reversal that caught many optimistic players off guard. In total, more than 246,000 traders were forced out of their positions, underscoring the scale of the selloff and stirring memories of the turbulent days following the FTX collapse in 2022.
During this 24-hour period, major crypto exchanges saw massive liquidation events. The largest single hit was a $44.29 million Bitcoin-USDT position liquidated on HTX. Other exchanges like Hyperliquid and Bybit also reported substantial losses within just four hours, with long liquidations of $134.16 million and $122.57 million respectively. Such forced closures typically happen when leverage is high, and sudden price swings leave traders unable to meet margin requirements, triggering automatic liquidations. The fact that most liquidations targeted long positions suggests that many traders had bet heavily on Bitcoin’s price rising before the market sharply declined.
The current sentiment in the crypto market has plunged to lows not seen since the FTX disaster in late 2022. Indicators like Bitcoin’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) have dived into deeply oversold territory, a signal last observed during the darkest moments of that crisis. Additionally, Bitcoin has fallen below its lower volatility band for the first time in three years, highlighting pronounced market stress and uncertainty. Such technical signals amplify the pessimism among market participants who recall the cascading failures that followed the 2022 FTX collapse, which erased billions in value and severely shook confidence.
Despite the bleak atmosphere, experts remain divided on the market’s trajectory. Ki Young Ju, CEO of CryptoQuant, argues that a true bear market won’t be confirmed unless Bitcoin’s price breaks below $94,000—a level representing the cost basis of many investors entering the market over the past 6 to 12 months. He suggests the current weakness might just be a severe correction within an otherwise bullish trend, urging caution before jumping to conclusions about a prolonged downturn.
On the other hand, Haseeb Qureshi from DragonFly Capital points out that today’s crisis differs fundamentally from 2022. Instead of systemic failures across exchanges, banks, and stablecoins, the current losses stem primarily from price declines. He describes this bear market as comparatively mild, lacking the domino effect of institutional collapses that characterized the previous one. This divergence of opinion reflects broader uncertainty in the crypto ecosystem, where signs of distress coexist with a comparatively stable infrastructure.
The FTX collapse remains a powerful reference point for investors and analysts. The 2022 event triggered a massive drop in Bitcoin’s price as trust evaporated following revelations about Alameda Research’s finances and Binance’s liquidation of FTT tokens. Today’s market turmoil echoes that period’s sentiment-driven selloff, lower liquidity, and shifting narratives. However, the absence of broad institutional failures offers some consolation and room for potential recovery.
Overall, the crypto market finds itself at a crossroads. While technical indicators and liquidations echo the panic of past crises, foundational differences in current market dynamics and expert opinions suggest multiple possible outcomes. Whether this spells the start of a prolonged bear market or a sharp but temporary correction remains to be seen, with traders and analysts keeping a close eye on key price levels and sentiment trends.
