Exchanges stack liquidation fees as market downturn breaks leveraged positions

The crypto market faced an onslaught of liquidations this February. The latest round of unwinding affected fewer positions in dollar terms, but caused a deeper drawdown for Bitcoin (BTC) and all other leading assets. 

Traders got liquidated for over $809M, attacking both short and long positions. The latest liquidation event pressured Bitcoin (BTC) to break under its range, sinking to the $88,000 level. Newer data shows the liquidations continue, expanding to $1.48B in 24 hours. 

For exchanges, however, any market conditions can lead to a payday in terms of fees and other sources of income related to the leveraged trade. It was precisely leveraged positions that drove the market, as traders deposited record liquidity in stablecoins. 

One way exchanges benefit from turbulence is through funding fees, which accrue when holding a position. One whale on Hyperliquid accrued over $2.16M to avoid liquidation and retain their position. 

Liquidations, increased trading volumes, and additional fees are boosting exchange revenues, even as crypto assets flounder. The recent crash for BTC and Ethereum (ETH) also followed a day of increased transfers from exchanges to market makers. 

Exchanges have different liquidation fee schedules. Binance charges a 2% liquidation fee and 3% for pro traders. 

After the recent liquidations, BTC sees extremely sparse long positions, as low as $86,000. Liquidity has now shifted to short positions up to $99,700, suggesting a market recovery may follow to challenge the most liquid tiers. The first big accumulation of liquidity is at $92,000, suggesting BTC may make a price move in that direction.

Market crash helped Bybit repay its loans

The recent ETH market crash made it much easier for Bybit to cover its loans. The exchange had excess liquidity for some stablecoins but lacked the needed ETH to repay in kind. Initially, it was hard for Bybit to source ETH, and the asset was trading above $2,700. 

In the past 24 hours, Bybit has been using multiple avenues to acquire more ETH. The latest purchase was for another 36,893 ETH, acquired through an OTC deal. The funds originated from a high-value wallet, sent through an intermediary address created three days ago. Bybit has sourced an estimated 212,101 ETH through OTC deals in the past day, reflecting the new lowered price.

The latest ETH dip to $2,370.28 meant the Bybit loan was now much cheaper and covered much faster. The rapid unraveling of assets led to peak volumes on Bybit. The exchange also became the leader in new liquidations. 

Bybit liquidations do not directly translate into fund inflows

Over 45% of all liquidations for the past day happened on Bybit. In the past 24 hours, over $675M were liquidated on Bybit, affecting 94.42% in long positions. The current level of liquidations is unusual for Bybit, and usually affects Binance the most, leading to more suspicions of market tampering.

Bybit increased its volumes and influence in the past weeks, lining up among top-tier exchanges just before its $1.5B hack. 

The accrued long positions were indeed attackable, but the ability to sell large amounts of ETH raised suspicions that exchanges were coordinating to bring down the market and clear all leverage. In the end, the decision to hold leveraged positions belongs to traders, who took the risk that whales could sell and depress the market.

During a liquidation event, the funds are paid out to traders that have taken the opposite position, and for covering the exchange’s claims if the positions are still open. Bybit may still hold some of the liquidated funds in its insurance fund. 

At this point, it is difficult to estimate Bybit’s exact share. It is unknown if the exchange itself trades against other users. The final funds available to Bybit would also depend on the leverage of the positions and the minimal funds left in the margin accounts. Some exchanges may act as market makers and retain a part of the liquidated funds.

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