Benzinga - The cryptocurrency market has experienced a significant blow, with more than $225 million worth of positions being liquidated within a 24-hour timeframe.
What Happened: This market turbulence follows on the heels of a development involving Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume.
Changpeng Zhao, the leader of Binance, has decided to step down from his CEO position. This shift in leadership comes in the aftermath of a legal settlement.
According to data provided by Coinglass, over $180 million of the liquidations were from traders with long positions—bets that prices would rise. Binance was the epicenter of these liquidations, with approximately $98 million worth of trades occurring on the platform alone.
In total, liquidations amounted to $226.74 million. Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) bore the brunt of these financial hits, with $50 million in long liquidations, followed by Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) with a $20 million hit. Binance’s own token, BNB (CRYPTO: BNB), was not immune to the downturn, witnessing $4.35 million in long position closures.
Traders holding out for a rebound in the meme-famed cryptocurrency, Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE), faced losses too. Over $4.77 million in Dogecoin long positions evaporated within the last 24 hours.
See More: Dogecoin HODLERs Are Beating Shiba Inu With 57% Landing In Profits, IntoTheBlock Data Reveals
Why It Matters: Binance recorded a significant withdrawal surge, with $566.8 million being moved off the platform as per DefiLlama’s reports.
Zhao in a tweet on Tuesday opened up about his difficult decision to resign: "Admittedly, it was not easy to let go emotionally. But I know it is the right thing to do. I made mistakes, and I must take responsibility. This is best for our community, for Binance, and for myself."
Today, I stepped down as CEO of Binance. Admittedly, it was not easy to let go emotionally. But I know it is the right thing to do. I made mistakes, and I must take responsibility. This is best for our community, for Binance, and for myself.Binance is no longer a baby. It is…
— CZ