A major $61 million BTC position was wiped out on HTX as investor sentiment plunged to extreme fear levels.

Bitcoin’s Monday slide delivered the largest single liquidation of the past 24 hours, as the market unwound weekend gains and sentiment deteriorated sharply.

A leveraged long position valued at $61.5 million was forcibly closed on HTX, marking the biggest individual liquidation during the period, according to data from CoinGlass. The move came as BTC fell from Saturday’s peak near $68,600 to around $64,400 in a rapid reversal that wiped out the prior rally. CoinDesk has reached out to HTX for comment.

The size of the trade points to a concentrated whale or fund position rather than a typical retail margin call. Across the broader market, $467.64 million in positions were liquidated over 24 hours, affecting 137,422 traders. Long positions accounted for $434 million — roughly 93% of total liquidations — underscoring how heavily skewed positioning was toward further upside before prices turned lower.

Bitcoin futures made up $213.62 million of the forced closures. Ether (ETH) followed with $113.89 million in liquidations, while solana (SOL) saw $19.89 million erased. Hyperliquid’s HYPE token recorded $10.72 million, an outsized figure for a token that typically sits outside the main liquidation leaderboard.

Extreme fear returns

The selloff dragged Alternative.me’s Crypto Fear and Greed Index down to 5 out of 100, placing it firmly in “extreme fear” territory. Since the index was introduced in 2018, such a low reading has only been observed in August 2019, June 2022, and earlier this month when bitcoin dipped toward $60,000.

On-chain data from Glassnode suggests the pressure has not fully eased. The firm reported that the seven-day moving average of net realized losses among short-term holders remains near $500 million per day, signaling continued capitulation even after February’s initial downturn.

“While the intensity has cooled, the broader regime still signals a market under pressure,” Glassnode said, adding that participants in a base-formation phase are still exiting at a loss.

Bitcoin is now trading about 48% below its October all-time high of $126,000 and roughly 5.5% under its 2021 peak near $69,000. Although the latest drop has cleared out significant leverage, the broader pattern persists: traders continue to chase rebounds, only to face renewed downside as momentum fades.