Bitcoin spot trading absolutely exploded in October, hitting over $300 billion as traders decided they’d had enough of getting liquidated on leveraged positions. After losing a collective $19 billion earlier in the month, people finally learned their lesson about gambling with borrowed money.
The carnage started when Trump announced new China tariffs and Bitcoin crashed from $122,000 down to $101,000 in hours. Over 1.6 million traders got liquidated, with long positions taking the worst beating at nearly $17 billion in losses. One poor soul on Hyperliquid lost $20 million alone.
After that bloodbath, traders basically said, “Screw leverage,” and moved to spot trading, where you actually own the Bitcoin instead of betting on price movements. Binance handled about $174 billion of October’s spot volume, showing both retail and institutional money flooding into safer positions.
CryptoQuant analysts think this shift is actually healthy for the market. When people are buying real Bitcoin instead of playing with derivatives, prices reflect genuine demand rather than speculative nonsense. That usually means fewer insane swings and a more solid foundation.
Bitcoin recovered to around $109,800 by month’s end and has been stuck between $108,000 and $116,000. Exchange data shows traders are pulling coins off platforms into personal wallets, which suggests they’re planning to hold rather than trade. The whole market just got a brutal reminder that leverage kills.
Conclusion
The October shakeout pushed traders toward safer spot trading, strengthening market stability. With fewer leveraged bets and more people actually holding Bitcoin, the market now sits on firmer, more sustainable demand rather than speculation.
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