For the second time in a week, ether took the brunt of a crypto selloff. CoinDesk reported on Oct. 15 that nearly $483 million of bitcoin and ether futures were liquidated in 24 hours, per CoinGlass, with ether accounting for about $286 million, roughly 59%, to bitcoin's $197 million. Ether fell more than 6% to about $2,356, roughly twice bitcoin's 3.2% drop to around $81,000. CoinDesk attributed the slide to uncertainty over the Federal Reserve's next interest-rate decision.

Liquidations By Asset, 24 Hours
Millions of dollars, CoinGlass data as reported by CoinDesk, Oct. 15, 2026
Ether ~$286M Bitcoin $197M Solana ~$31M Zcash ~$19M
Itemized assets sum to about $533M. CoinDesk's headline says "nearly $1 billion" across crypto; the article body itemizes only $483M for bitcoin and ether futures plus smaller figures for SOL and ZEC. Source: CoinDesk, CoinGlass.

The numbers, and a gap in the headline

CoinDesk's headline says "nearly $1 billion" in crypto bets were liquidated. The article body itemizes less: about $286 million in ether, $197 million in bitcoin, roughly $31 million in Solana and nearly $19 million in Zcash, which sum to about $533 million. The remainder isn't itemized, and the article names CoinGlass only as its source and doesn't break out the rest. It's the same kind of gap we flagged in last week's ether liquidation report: headline totals and itemized figures from the same outlet don't always reconcile, and different trackers cover different venues and windows. Our explainer, What Is a Crypto Liquidation?, covers why. CoinDesk also notes that liquidation figures measure the value of positions closed, not the cash traders actually lost.

Why ether's share looks outsized

CoinDesk reports open interest of about $30 billion in ether contracts and $52 billion in bitcoin contracts. As simple arithmetic on those figures, ether's $286 million is about 1% of its open interest, while bitcoin's $197 million is about 0.4% of its own, so ether's liquidations were around two and a half times larger relative to the leverage outstanding. That's PumpReport's calculation from CoinDesk's rounded numbers, not a figure the article reports, and open-interest snapshots can be taken at different times than liquidation windows. It lines up with the price move, though: when a leveraged market falls twice as far, more positions cross their liquidation prices. The article doesn't offer an ether-specific cause beyond the Fed uncertainty weighing on the whole market.

The rest of the market

XRP and Solana fell around 5%, with SOL down roughly 5.5%, dogecoin lost about 6%, and Zcash dropped about 13%, per CoinDesk. The report cites no analyst commentary and no price levels beyond bitcoin near $81,000 and ether near $2,350. Three days later, a CoinDesk analyst roundup quoted Laser Digital's Luca Invernizzi saying leverage has "largely been flushed" from bitcoin and LO:TECH's Adam Morgan McCarthy saying funding rates are at or below zero, views we cover in Analysts Split on Bitcoin's $100K Year-End Hope. Those are individual analysts' readings of positioning, not confirmed facts about the market.

What it means for reading the next one

Two ether-led liquidation waves in eight days is a pattern worth noting, not a prediction. The practical lesson from both is to check what a liquidation total is measuring: which window, which venues, which assets, and how much of the headline number the article actually itemizes. If you want the mechanics of how forced selling feeds on itself, start with the hub guide above.

Fast answers

How much was liquidated in crypto on Oct. 15, 2026?

CoinDesk's headline said nearly $1 billion. Its article itemized about $483 million of bitcoin and ether futures liquidations over 24 hours per CoinGlass, plus about $31 million in Solana and nearly $19 million in Zcash. The rest of the headline figure was not itemized.

Why did ether lead the liquidations?

Ether fell more than 6% to about $2,356, roughly twice bitcoin's 3.2% drop, and accounted for about $286 million, around 59%, of the bitcoin and ether total. CoinDesk attributed the market slide to uncertainty over the Fed's next rate decision and gave no ether-specific cause.

What is open interest and why does it matter here?

Open interest is the total value of outstanding derivative contracts. CoinDesk reported about $30 billion for ether and $52 billion for bitcoin. By PumpReport's arithmetic, ether's liquidations were about 1% of its open interest versus about 0.4% for bitcoin.

Do liquidation totals show how much money traders lost?

No. CoinDesk notes liquidation figures measure the value of positions closed, not the cash traders actually lost.

Not financial advice. This article summarizes publicly reported information and named-source commentary as of the date shown. Prices, liquidation totals and other figures change continuously and different data providers report different numbers; check a primary source before acting on anything here. Analyst views are reported as the analysts' own and are not forecasts by PumpReport. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy, sell, hold or trade any asset or to use leverage. Consult a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions.
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Sources: CoinDesk (Shaurya Malwa, Oct. 15, 2026), CoinGlass data as cited by CoinDesk. Open-interest ratio is PumpReport's arithmetic.