Bitcoin and Ether Liquidity Rebounds One Year After $19 Billion Market Crash
One year after a $19 billion liquidation event on October 10, 2025, triggered by tariff announcements, market data indicates a divergent recovery in cryptocurrency liquidity. While bitcoin and ether have seen order book depth surpass pre-crash levels, altcoin liquidity and overall spot trading volumes on centralized exchanges have failed to recover, remaining significantly below levels recorded prior to the crash.
Key points
- Bitcoin and ether order books now hold more resting liquidity than on the day of the October 2025 crash.
- More than $19 billion in leveraged positions were liquidated in a single day on October 10, 2025.
- Altcoin liquidity continues to trend downward, with dollar depth lower than at the start of 2025.
- Weekly spot trading volume on centralized exchanges remains nearly two-thirds below the $801 billion recorded during the week of the crash.
What happened
Market liquidity for major cryptocurrencies has rebounded one year after a significant market crash. On October 10, 2025, bitcoin and ether experienced a rapid sell-off following the announcement of 100% tariffs on Chinese imports by President Donald Trump, resulting in the liquidation of over $19 billion in leveraged positions.
CoinDesk Research reports that bitcoin and ether order books now exhibit deeper liquidity than they did on the day of the crash or at the beginning of 2026. This improvement is attributed to increased capital commitment from market makers rather than price fluctuations.
Market move
Bitcoin's order book depth within 1% of the price reached approximately $11.7 million as of October 7, 2026, a 75% increase compared to the day of the crash. Ether has shown a stronger recovery, with depth within 0.5% of the price more than doubling since the crash.
In contrast, altcoin liquidity has declined. Dollar depth for a basket of altcoins has decreased on every measured date since January 1, 2025. Additionally, weekly spot trading volume on centralized exchanges averaged $279 billion in the four weeks leading to September 27, 2026, far below the $801 billion seen during the week of the crash.
Why it moved
Analysts suggest that market makers have returned specifically to major assets, leading to a divergence in liquidity. Joshua de Vos of CoinDesk Research noted that majors continue to dominate institutional interest and volumes, while altcoin liquidity continues to trend downward. The market's resilience was tested recently when bitcoin's 1% depth fell approximately 12% between October 7 and October 8, 2026, during a market sell-off.
