Bybit CEO Ben Zhou estimates that crypto liquidations could be between $8-10 billion , far surpassing the widely reported figures. He revealed that Bybit and other major exchanges restrict the liquidation data that gets shared publicly, making actual losses much worse than they appear. Zhou compared this situation to the 2022 FTX collapse, where reported liquidations were significantly lower than reality. He claimed real losses were 4-6 times greater than what was disclosed at the time. Moving forward, he said Bybit would aim for greater transparency regarding real-time liquidation data. Ben Zhou, head of Bybit, the second-largest crypto exchange by trading volume, issued a stark warning about the market. The downturn was already influenced by DeepSeek, a Chinese AI project that impacted US tech stocks. However, after President Trump imposed new tariffs on Canada and Mexico, the crypto market took a serious hit. Official reports stated losses of around $2 billion, but Zhou strongly disagreed, suggesting the damage was far worse. “The actual total liquidation today is much higher than $2 billion. My estimate is at least $8-10 billion. For context, Bybit alone saw $2.1 billion in liquidations within 24 hours,” he explained. He pointed out that Coinglass, a liquidation tracking platform, recorded only a fraction of this—around $333 million—because of API limitations that restrict how much data can be pushed out per second. Zhou’s perspective holds weight, as Bybit was closely tied to FTX before its collapse. When asked how FTX’s reported liquidation figures compared to the real numbers, he confirmed that true losses were 4-6 times higher than what was made public . This suggests that the current situation may be far worse than many realize. Bitcoin’s price saw a major drop during Monday’s market crash, but it wasn’t the only cryptocurrency affected. BTC sell-offs triggered similar price declines in Solana and Ethereum, which reached its lowest value of the year. If Zhou’s estimation is accurate and real liquidations are up to 5 times the reported amount, the market could be facing a deeper crisis. Earlier in January, Arthur Hayes, former CEO of BitMEX, warned that Bitcoin could drop further in response to political and economic instability , possibly leading to a small financial crisis. Despite the current downturn, the crypto market has endured multiple bear markets in the past. While short-term volatility is painful, the industry has always managed to recover. Even with the recent losses, Bitcoin’s value remains nearly double what it was six months ago. Many investors see these market dips as opportunities, believing that crypto’s long-term growth will continue.
