Bitcoin fell sharply to $112,000 in the latest flash crash, marking its lowest level in nearly two weeks and reversing the prior week’s advance. Since Sunday midnight UTC, BTC has slipped 2.2%, while Ether (ETH) (–5.7%) and Solana (SOL) (–5.5%) underperformed, showing their high-beta tendencies by declining more than most.
Leverage Unwind Hits ETH and SOL Harder as BTC Drops to $112K
22 September 2025 - 11:59 CEST
Derivatives positioning was at the center of the move. According to Coinglass, long-side liquidations were concentrated and heavy: $268 million for BTC, $465 million for ETH, and $89 million for SOL. CoinMetrics data confirm a broad deleveraging: BTC open interest fell $1.41 billion (–2.5%), ETH dropped $522 million (–8.2%), and SOL contracted $2.41 billion (–6.4%). The steeper proportional decline in ETH underscores the relatively higher leverage in its futures market compared with BTC.
Eyes on SOPR
On-chain, Bitcoin’s Short-Term Holder SOPR remains above 1 across all tracked horizons: 30 days (1.01), 90 days (1.08), 155 days (1.32), and 1 year (1.81). This indicates coins are still being spent at a profit despite the drawdown, though shorter-term holders are now close to breakeven. SOPR > 1 typically signals profit-taking rather than capitulation; a drop toward or below 1 would suggest a shift to loss-cutting and more stress-driven selling.
Finally, the CoinMarketCap Altseason Index was elevated at 77 prior to the drawdown. Historically, high altseason readings have often preceded volatility spikes, as stretched outperformance in alts tends to unwind sharply during stress.
Leveraged washout
Overall, the episode looks more like a leveraged washout than structural weakness. Key watchpoints ahead are whether Bitcoin’s SOPR holds above break-even and how quickly open interest rebuilds, both signals for the durability of market sentiment.
