Crypto Whales Trigger $716M Liquidation Amid Market Correction

The crypto market saw $716 million in liquidations in the past 24 hours, according to CoinGlass data on May 13, 2025. More than 210,000 traders were affected. Most losses came from long positions, which made up $582 million of the total. Bitcoin (BTC) dropped to $101,000, while Ethereum (ETH) fell 4% to $2,400. Solana (SOL) declined 6% and traded at around $175. The correction followed a strong rally last week. At that time, BTC climbed back over the $100,000 mark, and ETH rose more than 40% to reach $2,500. During the rally, the Fear & Greed Index reached 78, indicating high risk levels in the market. This shift in market sentiment led to the sharp liquidation event. As retail traders faced losses, crypto whales adjusted their strategies. Crypto Whales Take ETH and XRP Profits, Add SOL Exposure One crypto whale made several trades during the correction, according to Lookonchain. The whale closed a long position in Ethereum worth $14.8 million, totaling 17,702 ETH . They also exited a 9.83 million XRP position worth $24.2 million. Together, these moves secured about $7.5 million in profits. While taking profits from ETH and XRP, the same whale opened a long position on Solana. They bought 13,871 SOL, valued at $2.5 million. However, this position now shows an unrealized loss of $560,000. On May 12, data from OnchainLens revealed that the whale also deposited 5.84 million USDC into Hyperliquid. They used the funds to open a 2x leveraged long position on XRP. Another investor who lost $5.73 million on ETH in February 2025 recently made $4.71 million in profits from new ETH trades. These shifts highlight how crypto whales respond quickly during volatile periods. Crypto Whales Open Short Positions on BTC, ETH, and SOL Some crypto whales switched from profit-taking to shorting. One address, called the “Hyperliquid 50x Address,” reversed a short position and earned $1.18 million. They closed the position shortly after to lock in the profit. On the same day, another whale deposited 10 million USDC i nto Hyperliquid. They used the funds to increase short positions across multiple assets. The breakdown included $14.8 million in BTC, $13.3 million in ETH, and $2.5 million in SOL. These short trades suggest that large holders positioned for further downside. The use of USDC and leveraged trades on Hyperliquid shows how some whales managed risk during the price dip. These moves followed the drop in prices across all three tokens. Bitcoin Reserves Fall to 2.4M as Davinci Jeremie Warns of Supply Shock Several market analysts noted activity beyond whale trades. Davinci Jeremie pointed to a drop in Bitcoin supply held on exchanges. He said, “A supply shock is brewing,” referring to limited BTC availability during future demand surges. He shared a chart from CryptoQuant that tracks Bitcoin reserves across all centralized exchanges. The chart shows a steady and sharp decline in exchange-held BTC from over 3.1 million in May 2024 to around 2.4 million in May 2025. This represents a 22% reduction over the course of one year. At the same time, the Bitcoin price rose from below $70,000 in early 2025 to $102,000 by mid-May. The chart highlights this inverse relationship between reserve levels and price. As reserves dropped, the price trend moved upward, especially after a steep fall in March 2025. The green arrow on the chart marks the continuation of the downward slope in Bitcoin reserves. The data suggests that fewer BTC remain on exchanges for trading, which often limits immediate sell-side liquidity. While the chart doesn’t predict prices, it visually emphasizes reduced exchange supply during a period of price growth. BTC Exits Accumulation Cylinder, Merlijn Links Move to Livermore Chart Structure Merlijn The Trader shared a chart on X, showing that BTC moved out of the “accumulation cylinder.” He explained, The chart compares Bitcoin’s current monthly price action to Jesse Livermore’s classic speculative model. On the left, the original hand-drawn Livermore chart outlines a 14-stage market cycle. On the right, Merlijn aligned Bitcoin’s current movement to that model, highlighting key points from accumulation to potential distribution. Bitcoin’s candles from mid-2022 to early 2025 resemble Livermore’s phases 1 through 7. As of May 2025, the breakout from the channel marks the transition to point 8, the beginning of the steep rally phase. The projected green path draws possible moves to stages 9 through 13, with prices hypothetically rising toward $500,000 before entering a new downturn phase. The visual aligns Bitcoin’s recent structure with traditional speculative phases, emphasizing the timing of its escape from long-term consolidation. The reference to the Livermore framework adds historical context to current technical positioning. BTC Dominance Hits Resistance, Michaël Flags End of Altcoin Bear Market Michaël van de Poppe shared another signal. He observed a bearish divergence in Bitcoin dominance on the weekly chart. he wrote on X. The chart shows Bitcoin dominance reaching a resistance zone between 54% and 58%, marked in red. This zone aligns with previous peaks seen in late 2019 and early 2021. After touching the top of this range, dominance pulled back slightly, suggesting rejection from the upper limit. Below the chart, volume bars show an increase in trading activity as the dominance level approached the resistance zone. At the same time, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) on the top of the chart signals overbought conditions. These indicators, combined with the divergence, suggest potential weakness in Bitcoin dominance. The green zone at the bottom, labeled as the “start of the bear market,” contrasts the current area marked as the “end of the bear market.” This visual framing shows how the shift in dominance could open space for altcoin strength, based on past market behavior.