Key Takeaways
- Bitcoin fell below $77,000, triggering $657M in liquidations, $584M of which came from long positions in 24 hours.
- Whale trader Machi Big Brother was liquidated during the crash and immediately opened a new 25x ETH long on 1,825 ETH worth $3.87M.
- The four-day decline followed the CLARITY Act’s Senate Banking Committee advance on May 15, as traders sold into the regulatory news rally.
BTC Flash Crash Wipes $584 Million in Longs
Bitcoin’s latest decline pushed the asset below the $77,000 mark for the fourth consecutive day following a brief rally around the CLARITY Act’s Senate Banking Committee advance last Thursday. According to data, total liquidations reached $657 million over a 24-hour window, with $584 million coming from long positions, a clear signal that bullish leverage was heavily crowded entering the drawdown.
The sell-off pushed the Fear and Greed Index to an alarming 29, landing squarely in the fear zone after sitting at a neutral 50 just days prior. Among altcoins, Quant (QNT) fell approximately 7% and was trading near $75, approaching its 50-day exponential moving average (EMA) at $72.86. Bitcoin Cash ( BCH) dropped below $400, trading beneath both its 50-day and 200-day EMAs.
Bitcoin itself has continued to hover between $76,000 and $76,500 at press time, with key technical support at the 50-day EMA of $76,716 and the 200-day EMA at $83,513 acting as overhead resistance. The previous major support test came at $70,740 on April 12, 2026, a level bulls will be watching closely if the slide continues.
Whale Trader Machi Gets Liquidated and Opens a Fresh 25x ETH Bet
Amid the market-wide flush, serial high- leverage trader Machi Big Brother, the alias of entrepreneur Jeffrey Huang, was liquidated again. As the drop unfolded, onchain data flagged that the sudden crash had wiped Machi’s active position. Instead of waiting, he immediately opened a new 25x leveraged long on 1,825 ETH, worth approximately $3.87 million, with a liquidation price set at $2,086.69.
Bitcoin.com News previously reported that Machi opened an $86 million BTC and ETH long position after losing $73 million across six months, a Martingale-style approach of scaling up positions following losses in an attempt to recover prior drawdowns. Huang has now accumulated over 335 liquidations, with 262 occurring in January 2026 alone during that month’s volatility spike. His current liquidation price of $2,086.69 on ETH provides a wider buffer than many past positions, but another sustained leg down in the broader market could close it quickly.
Spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have compounded the ongoing pressure with data showing BTC spot ETFs recorded a net outflow of $1.039 billion for the week of May 11–15, snapping six consecutive weeks of net inflows. Spot Ethereum ETFs posted a separate net outflow of $255 million over the same period, with the combined institutional exit reflecting potential reassessment of near-term positioning by major market participants.
