TLDR: Binance sell order at 21:21 UTC triggered liquidations that reached Hyperliquid-linked stock contracts Bullish positions made up about $38M of the $51.6M liquidated between 21:22 and 21
A semiconductor flash crash wiped out $51.6 million in leveraged positions during weekend trading on crypto platforms. A large sell order on Binance at 21:21 UTC on Saturday triggered the liquidations.
The wave spread to venues such as Hyperliquid and hit contracts tied to SOXL, SanDisk, and SK Hynix. Thin liquidity worsened the drop, since US stock markets were closed. Prices rebounded quickly afterward, and the wider crypto markets held steady.
Analyst AN Crypto described the semiconductor flash crash in a post on X. The post states that liquidations occurred between 21:22 and 21:32 UTC on Saturday. Positions tied to chip stocks and semiconductor funds were closed by force during that ten-minute window.
The selling began on Binance. Within seconds, it reached stock contracts linked to Hyperliquid. These contracts stay open even when US exchanges are shut.
$52 MILLION WIPED OUT IN JUST 10 MINUTES — WHILE WALL STREET WAS CLOSED. Crypto exchanges are becoming a 24/7 casino for stock traders. This weekend, leveraged bets on semiconductor stocks suffered a massive liquidation wave, even though the underlying U.S. stock market wasn’t… pic.twitter.com/j4mTHAvzpk
— AN Crypto (@ANCrypto_) October 18, 2026
Thin weekend liquidity left few buy orders to absorb the large sell order. The sequence showed how quickly pressure can move across trading venues.
A liquidation occurs when an exchange closes a leveraged position after the trader’s margin falls too low. Bullish traders took the largest share of the losses. About $38 million came from positions betting on higher prices. The rest came from traders betting on lower prices.
SOXL contracts recorded the biggest losses, with about $12.7 million liquidated. SanDisk and SK Hynix contracts followed, each seeing around $10.8 million in liquidations.
The liquidations came after a rough stretch for the semiconductor sector in regular trading. Chips had logged eight straight losing days, their worst streak since 2008.
Pullbacks in AI spending accompanied that decline. The streak left the sector under pressure before the weekend session began.
The semiconductor flash crash on crypto venues followed this run of losses. Together, the three contract groups accounted for about $34.3 million of the total. Other positions made up the remaining balance.
AN Crypto pointed to the absence of an opening bell as the central issue. With Wall Street closed, these contracts had no real-time share prices to anchor them. Traders were effectively reacting to each other, and leverage amplified the move.
US markets reopen on Monday. Actual share prices will then show how far weekend contract prices drifted from the underlying stocks. Until then, moves from the semiconductor flash crash cannot be compared with live stock data.
Tokenized stock exposure and perpetual contracts now allow markets to trade around the clock. Perpetual contracts have no expiry date, so traders can hold them while margin requirements are met.
However, constant access does not guarantee reliable price discovery or deep liquidity. Longer trading hours offer more opportunity, but they also create more ways for traders to face liquidation.
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