The hidden tax of leverage in crypto.
By Maxime Laurent · 2025-12-25 20:01
The hidden tax of leverage in crypto.
In 2025 alone, forced liquidations quietly drained $150B from traders.
I was scrolling with my morning coffee when I saw the yearly recap from CoinGlass, and honestly… it hit harder than most price charts. Not because it’s shocking — but because it’s so normalised.
Here’s the raw picture of 2025 so far:
• Daily liquidations: $400–500M, every single day
• Total liquidations: $150B
• Crypto derivatives volume: $85.7T total
• Average daily volume: $264.5B
And then comes October 10. One of those days you feel in your gut before you even open the app:
• Peak daily volume: $748B
• Liquidations in 24h: $19B
That’s not volatility — that’s leverage eating itself. Most of this money didn’t vanish because projects failed, but because positions were too big, too confident, too impatient. The market doesn’t need to crash to hurt you. It just needs to wiggle.
I’ve learned this the slow way: leverage is a multiplier of emotions before it’s a multiplier of gains. Respect it, or it will humble you, sans pitié. 🥀
#crypto #liquidations #derivatives #leverage #Bitcoin #riskmanagement
In 2025 alone, forced liquidations quietly drained $150B from traders.
I was scrolling with my morning coffee when I saw the yearly recap from CoinGlass, and honestly… it hit harder than most price charts. Not because it’s shocking — but because it’s so normalised.
Here’s the raw picture of 2025 so far:
• Daily liquidations: $400–500M, every single day
• Total liquidations: $150B
• Crypto derivatives volume: $85.7T total
• Average daily volume: $264.5B
And then comes October 10. One of those days you feel in your gut before you even open the app:
• Peak daily volume: $748B
• Liquidations in 24h: $19B
That’s not volatility — that’s leverage eating itself. Most of this money didn’t vanish because projects failed, but because positions were too big, too confident, too impatient. The market doesn’t need to crash to hurt you. It just needs to wiggle.
I’ve learned this the slow way: leverage is a multiplier of emotions before it’s a multiplier of gains. Respect it, or it will humble you, sans pitié. 🥀
#crypto #liquidations #derivatives #leverage #Bitcoin #riskmanagement
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and not financial advice.