Crypto’s Biggest Wipeout Sends Traders Flocking to Spot Markets

Bitcoin’s October spot trading hit $300B, the year’s second-highest, as traders fled leverage after $19B in losses.

Bitcoin’s spot trading volume in October was over $300 billion, making it the second-highest monthly total of the year, pushed by traders getting out of leveraged positions after the record-breaking liquidation on October 10.

CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost says the switch from high-risk derivatives to spot trading shows that speculation is cooling off and people are focusing on long-term accumulation again.

A Costly Lesson in Leverage

According to the market technician, Binance had the most BTC spot trades this month, with $174 billion, in a show of the exchange’s continued dominance. They also pointed out that the increased activity on the spot side was coming from both retail traders and institutional players.

The retreat follows the biggest single-day liquidation in crypto history on October 10, when more than $19 billion in leveraged positions were lost. During the crash, Bitcoin dropped from $122,000 to as low as $101,000 (on some exchanges), dragging altcoins into double-digit losses and forcing more than 1.6 million traders to sell.

It started when U.S. President Donald Trump threatened new tariffs on China, which made geopolitical tensions rise and caused mass liquidations on derivatives exchanges. Data from CoinGlass showed that long traders lost the most money, almost $17 billion. One trader is said to have lost $19 million on Hyperliquid, while a few whales made money by shorting the market just before it crashed.

The market has been trying to stabilize since then. Bitcoin is now worth $110,800, about 2% less than it was 24 hours ago but 1.2% more than its value from seven days ago. This week, the price of the asset has been tight, moving between $108,000 and $116,000, potentially meaning that things are getting calmer after a month of turmoil.

Navigating a New Market Reality

Despite the spot trading revival, analysts are warning that the current bounce may be fragile. As reported by on-chain firm Santiment, retail traders are showing heightened optimism, with many rushing to “buy the dip.” It cautioned that such behavior often comes before more declines, as true accumulation usually occurs when sentiment turns pessimistic.

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Furthermore, market experts like Ali Martinez have also flagged caution signals. He pointed out that the TD Sequential indicator has flashed another potential sell warning, with concerns persisting over tight global liquidity despite the Federal Reserve’s recent 25-basis-point rate cut. That policy move, rather than lifting markets, caused another $700 million in liquidations.

Even so, October’s historic shift toward spot trading paints a different picture, one where traders, scarred by leverage-induced losses, are opting for direct Bitcoin ownership and more stable participation. If this trend holds, Darkfost says it could mark the start of a healthier market foundation, where genuine demand rather than excessive leverage shapes crypto’s next phase.

“A market driven more by spot trading rather than derivatives is generally healthier, more stable, as it less vulnerable to extreme volatility driven by excessive open interest expansion,” wrote the analyst. “It also reflects stronger organic demand and greater overall market resilience.”