Just saw the breakdown of what happened when Bitcoin crashed below $75k recently. The move wasn't random - it was all about leverage getting flushed out of the system. When BTC dropped nearly 2% and alts followed (Ethereum down over 6%, Solana down 3%, XRP down 4%), it triggered a cascade of forced liquidations. Over $237 million in BTC long positions got wiped in a single day alone. That's the kind of selling pressure that feeds on itself. Looking at the bigger picture, this wasn't just a one-day thing. Over the past week, BTC liquidations hit around $2.16 billion. Stretch it to a month and you're looking at over $4.4 billion getting cleared. That tells you leverage has been unwinding for weeks, not just when the price tanked. Here's what made it worse: as Bitcoin fell, those liquidated positions became automatic market sells. Each sale pushed the price lower, which triggered more forced selling. Since Bitcoin dominates the derivatives market, all that pressure bled into altcoins too. Traders were cutting risk everywhere. What really explains why crypto markets fell? Open interest in perpetual futures dropped about 4.4% in one day, wiping roughly $26 billion in exposure. Over the past month, total derivatives open interest is down around 34%. That's a massive deleveraging cycle. Add in some nervousness around large holders who had unrealized losses, plus a broader risk-off mood across global markets (stocks weakening, monetary policy concerns), and you've got the perfect storm. The key level to watch is whether Bitcoin can hold above $75k. If it does, the market might stabilize. A clear break below puts $70k in focus. Until liquidations slow and Bitcoin steadies, expect high volatility and weak bounces.