Bitcoin’s $81,000 Break Turns Into a $1 Billion Leverage Washout

By Isaac • October 8, 2026 7:07 pm •

Bitcoin broke through another round-number support level with force. Its move below $81,000 triggered the kind of forced selling that exposes how much leverage had been leaning on an already fragile market.

CryptoSlate reported that the move through the $81,000 buy wall came as crypto liquidations swelled toward $1 billion. The total matters because liquidations are automatic closures, not voluntary sales.

Once collateral can no longer support a leveraged position, the exchange sells into the decline. That can turn an ordinary break into a much faster cascade.

The reversal is especially sharp because traders had just watched leverage work in the opposite direction. On October 2, Bull Theory noted that Bitcoin’s rebound through $86,000 liquidated $120