Ben Zhou, the CEO of Bybit, has raised concerns about the state of the crypto market. He estimates that liquidations could reach between $8-10 billion, which is much higher than the reported figures. Zhou explained that major exchanges, including Bybit, limit the liquidation data shared publicly. This means that actual losses are likely much worse than they seem.
He compared the current situation to the 2022 collapse of FTX, where the reported liquidations were much lower than the reality. Zhou stated that the real losses at that time were 4-6 times higher than what was disclosed. He emphasized that Bybit aims to provide more transparency about real-time liquidation data in the future.
The crypto market has been affected by various factors, including a Chinese AI project called DeepSeek, which impacted US tech stocks. Additionally, new tariffs imposed by President Trump on Canada and Mexico caused a significant downturn in the crypto market.
While official reports claimed losses of around $2 billion, Zhou disagreed. He mentioned that Bybit alone experienced $2.1 billion in liquidations within just 24 hours. A liquidation tracking platform, Coinglass, reported only about $333 million due to limitations in data sharing.
Zhou’s insights are important, especially since Bybit was closely linked to FTX before its collapse. He confirmed that the true losses during the FTX crisis were much higher than reported, suggesting that the current situation might be worse than many think.
During the recent market crash, Bitcoin’s price dropped significantly, affecting other cryptocurrencies like Solana and Ethereum. If Zhou’s estimates are correct, the market could be facing a deeper crisis. Earlier this year, Arthur Hayes, the former CEO of BitMEX, warned that Bitcoin might drop further due to political and economic instability.
Despite the downturn, the crypto market has survived previous bear markets. Many investors view these dips as opportunities, believing in the long-term growth of crypto. Even with recent losses, Bitcoin’s value is still nearly double what it was six months ago.
