Crypto Markets See Liquidations Worth $454M In Single Day Amid Russian Military Action In Ukraine

The cryptocurrency markets witnessed liquidations worth $454.47 million over a 24-hour period as of early Thursday, amid news that Russia has launched a military attack on Ukraine.

What Happened: Cryptocurrency liquidations were worth $125.91 million and $351.78 million during the 4-hour and 12-hour time frames respectively leading to press time, as per data from cryptocurrency futures trading and information platform Coinglass.

150,576 traders were liquidated during the past 24 hours, with the largest single liquidation order — a Chainlink (LINK) trade valued at $3.2 million — occurring on cryptocurrency exchange Bitmex.

Over 74.5% of all liquidated traders during the 24-hour period were in ‘long’ positions, meaning they were betting on higher prices for the duration of their trades.

Ethereum ETH/USD-tracked futures saw the highest liquidations among all cryptocurrencies with $35.6 million, followed by Bitcoin BTC/USD futures at $31.7 million.

Altcoin-tracked futures also saw liquidations. Losses on LINK futures were $4.66 million, followed by Terra LUNA/USD futures with $4.15 million and Solana (SOL) futures with $3.33 million.

See Also: How To Buy Bitcoin (BTC)

Why It Matters: The total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies plunged 9.7% to $1.58 trillion at press time.

The plunge comes after Russia’s President Vladimir Putin announced late Wednesday night that the country’s armed forces would carry out a “special military operation” in Ukraine.

Price Action: Bitcoin is down 8.5% during the past 24 hours, trading at $35,598.43, while Ethereum is down 11.9% during the period to $2,379.44.

Read Next: Why Is Bitcoin Taking A Much Harsher Beating From Russia's Ukraine Invasion Than Stocks?