Hyperliquid processed more than $10 billion, while Binance accounted for roughly $2.4 billion. Altcoins bore the brunt of selling pressure while Bitcoin’s drawdown remained comparatively contained.
Perpetual swap funding rates flipped negative or pinned near zero across major pairs into and through Oct. 10 and 11.
Altcoin perpetuals showed an even sharper flip. Solana’s eight-hour funding rate fluctuated around -0.23% at multiple intervals on Oct. 11, a rare, broad “pay shorts” regime that signals a shift from crowded longs to defensive positioning.
That flip coincided with a collapse in altcoin OI and a sharp basis compression across dated futures, a classic footprint of a leverage purge centered outside Bitcoin.
By late weekend, several trackers showed monthly contracts back near 8% annualized for Bitcoin contracts on Deribit, a swing from mildly overheated to neutral, then a tentative re-steepening that accompanies reduced fragility.
Farside Investors’ data on US-traded spot Bitcoin ETF inflows show heavy net inflows earlier in the week, tapering into the crash, and then flipping slightly negative on Oct. 10.
On the day of the crash, IBIT inflows dropped to $74.2 million, while other issuers’ inflows flipped negative.
As a result, the day’s net flow turned negative by $4.5 million, ending a streak of nine consecutive days of positive net inflows. Additionally, although the outflows were small, they marked a departure from the prior three sessions of dip-buying.
The sequence of flows is important. ETF inflows between Oct. 7 and Oct. 8 preceded lighter net buying and Oct. 10’s small net outflow. Meanwhile, funding and basis compressed sharply, confirming deleveraging on perpetuals and dated futures.
The combination of spot ETF demand fading right as derivatives leverage cleared helped explain the violent wick and quick stabilization.
Stress concentrated where order books were thinnest. Several altcoins briefly printed near zero on some exchanges, driven by leverage unwind pullbacks that left momentary air pockets in specific pairs.
Bitcoin stabilized more quickly because it benefits from a deeper order book and a developing ETF buyer base.
Altcoins, lacking ETF-style demand sinks, absorbed the full brunt of derivative deleveraging through cross-margin collateral sales, negative funding across altcoin perpetuals, and patchy liquidity that amplified losses in the long tail.
The deleveraging flushed $65 billion of speculative positioning from the system in a single session. Until leverage rebuilds and market-makers widen back in, altcoins will likely remain more volatile than Bitcoin.
Despite the bloodshed, the event signals a heavy reset. Fewer forced sellers after the flush, modest basis rebuilding, and funding grinding back toward a flat level point to a market that has shed its fragility relative to a week ago.
