Bybit CEO estimates crypto wipeout crossed $8b, more than $2b reported

Bybit CEO Ben Zhou has suggested that the ongoing crypto market liquidation event may be significantly larger than widely reported.

According to CoinGlass data, over $2 billion in digital liquidations in 24 hours on Monday, Feb. 3, marking the single largest liquidation event in crypto history.

Several analysts estimated liquidations exceeded $2.2 billion, surpassing the COVID crash and FTX collapse, two of the most significant liquidation events ever recorded.

Yet, Zhou said the numbers may be underreported due to API limits. According to Bybit’s co-founder, the crypto exchange limits how much data is pushed to aggregators like CoinGlass. Other platforms likely use a similar capped system, Zhou said via X.

Zhou estimated that liquidations on Bybit alone accounted for $2.1 billion in losses, representing over 85% of the total reported figures. “I am afraid that today’s real total liquidation is a lot more than $2 billion. By my estimation, it should be at least $8 billion to $10 billion,” Zhou said.

Following Zhou’s comments, crypto community members debated the accuracy of the reported figures. Some speculated that previous liquidation events, such as the COVID crash and the FTX collapse, may have also been underreported.

Looking ahead, Zhou pledged that Bybit would begin sharing all liquidation data with the public. “We believe in transparency,” he stated, as digital assets reeled from a massive leverage flush.