Crypto whale account hit in $1.45M long liquidations as BTC test sub $104K levels

The crypto loss streak continues for consecutive Fridays, wiping millions from traders who had hoped days of a market slump were well behind them. A crypto whale has lost over $1.4 million to liquidations from long bets on wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Chainlink (LINK).

According to blockchain security firm PeckShield, a whale wallet identified as 0x19c4…d26a had open positions on decentralized derivatives exchange Aave using WBTC, ETH, and LINK as collateral. 

The liquidation occurred when Bitcoin’s price fell below the critical $104,000 level, causing forced sell-offs from several addresses in the derivatives market.

Bitcoin slump confirms whale’s $1.45 million liquidation

According to Etherscan data shared by PeckShield, the address transferred more than 14.8 ETH (worth roughly $54,700) to an Aave contract, along with over 1.28 million USDC, and made several smaller adjustments between the Aave Treasury and other DeFi entities, such as BuilderNet.

#PeckShieldAlert A whale wallet (0x19c4…d26a ), with a long position on $WBTC / $ETH / $LINK via #Aave, has been liquidated for $1.45M after BTC broke below $104K. pic.twitter.com/yEuWcv4RLS

— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) October 17, 2025

Automated collateral liquidations see digital assets held as margin sold to cover leveraged losses. PeckShield noted that the total exposure from the mentioned address amounted to approximately $1.45 million.

Bitcoin had fallen by 5.3% in the last 24 hours, going below a July low of $104,000 and causing a flurry of liquidations from highly leveraged traders who had bet on a much stronger market rebound. 

Market trackers placed the king coin’s trading resistance near $107,500 to $110,000, corresponding to the 200-day simple moving average (SMA). Technical analysts believe the SMA’s breakdown and a confirmed Head and Shoulders (H&S) chart pattern mean BTC is bearish in the short term.

During Friday’s Asian trading hours, another wallet, 0xbf2b…15bd, reportedly went long on WBTC via Aave and was liquidated for approximately $1.5 million after Bitcoin dipped below $108,000. 

#PeckShieldAlert A whale wallet (0xbf2b..15bd), long on $WBTC via #Aave, has been liquidated for $1.50M after BTC broke below $108K. pic.twitter.com/JKUwSgQaGA

— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) October 17, 2025

Market tracker Lookonchain identified another wallet, 0xc2a3, which is down over $10 million on long positions in Ethereum and Bitcoin. Despite having previously earned about $5.5 million in profit, recent market declines have reversed those gains, leaving the address with a net loss of $4.69 million.

Data from the analytics platform Hyperdash reveals that the same whale expanded his exposure on Thursday evening, raising his total leveraged positions to $158 million through 19,894 ETH, valued at $80.3 million, and 699 BTC, worth $77.6 million.

According to the platform, his ongoing Bitcoin long at 15x leverage showed a position value of $149.3 million, with 1,411 BTC, down 33.35% from entry. Meanwhile, his Ethereum long at 5x leverage carried a $75.4 million value, down 32.28%. The liquidation prices were set at $87,822 for BTC and $2,504 for ETH, meaning the trader was very close to another potential margin call if prices continued to slide.

Fear index grows, Trump says tariff threat was a “misunderstanding’

When the White House announced new tariffs targeting Chinese imports, exceeding 100% was set for November 1 last Friday, Bitcoin plunged from a weekly high of $122,000 in minutes. Panic sellers took hold of the leveraged trading markets and deepened the slide to under $110,000 on Bitstamp.

However, markets have shown signs of recovery a week later, when President Donald Trump appeared to retract his earlier statement on slapping China with more tariffs. 

Speaking to reporters on Friday, he said, “The tariffs that were supposed to be imposed on China as of November 1 won’t stand. I think we will be fine with China.”

The President’s word caused a mild charge in Bitcoin’s price, which recovered from its multi-week low to trade near $106,000 at the time of this publication.

That said, sentiment across crypto markets is still fragile due to the day’s red signals. The Fear and Greed Index currently reads 23, signaling “Extreme Fear.” Open interest per Coinglass’ readings are down 5.1%, funding rates near neutral at 0.0029%, and whale inflows to exchanges up by 17,184 BTC, which spells continued caution among whale accounts.

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