Rp16 Trillion in Crypto Funds Wiped Out in a Day: Fed Blamed

A fresh wave of selling has once again hit global digital asset markets. Over the past 24 hours, nearly US$1 billion in open positions in crypto futures markets were forcibly closed, with ether bearing the heaviest burden amid uncertainty over the direction of the US central bank's interest rates.

Data from CoinGlass compiled during the Asian trading session shows total liquidations reached US$483 million for bitcoin and ether contracts alone. That figure does not include positions in other tokens that were also significantly trimmed. The main trigger was speculation that the Federal Reserve will hold interest rates higher for longer than the market expects, prompting investors to reduce exposure to risk assets.

Bitcoin traded around US$81,000, down about 3% in a day. Ether fell deeper, 6.4% to US$2,356. The pressure also spread to altcoins: XRP and Solana (SOL) each weakened around 5%, while dogecoin depreciated nearly 6%.

Interestingly, ether suffered proportionally larger losses even though its futures market base was only around US$30 billion, far below bitcoin's US$52 billion. This suggests that long positions in ether are more vulnerable to sharp corrections, possibly because many traders use high leverage.

Liquidation occurs when a trader borrows funds to enlarge a position, and then an adverse price move erodes their collateral below the minimum threshold. The exchange then automatically closes the position. As an illustration, with US$1,000 in capital to control a US$10,000 position, a price drop of less than 10% is enough to liquidate that collateral. This process often deepens the decline because it forces selling while the market is already weak.

The impact does not stop at bitcoin and ether. Solana recorded about US$31 million in liquidations, while Zcash (ZEC) saw liquidations surge to US$19 million as its price plunged 13%. This indicates that systemic pressure is spreading to smaller-cap tokens.

"The market is digesting signals from The Fed. This uncertainty is making traders cut leverage, and that is triggering cascading liquidations," said a crypto market analyst who did not wish to be named.

For Indonesian investors, this turmoil is a reminder of the liquidity risks in digital asset markets. Although crypto is not legal tender in the country, ownership of these assets is fairly widespread. A sharp decline can trigger margin calls for those using leveraged platforms, and weigh on overall portfolio values. The Financial Services Authority (OJK) has previously warned that crypto assets are highly volatile and are not protected by deposit insurance institutions.

Going forward, market movements will depend heavily on statements from Fed officials in the coming weeks. If signals of monetary tightening continue, selling pressure could persist. Conversely, if there are indications of easing, the market may find a stabilizing point. The question is whether retail investors will return or instead choose to wait for clarity on the policy direction?