"Bybit CEO Warns: Crypto Tariff Impact Could Wipe Out $10B in Leveraged Positions"

Crypto crashes could wipe out up to $10 billion in leveraged positions, says Bybit CEO

Bybit CEO Ben Zhou has warned that the crypto market could face significant liquidations following recent US tariffs, potentially reaching up to $10 billion. Zhou emphasized that the actual liquidation figures are significantly higher than reported, largely due to data limitations imposed by major exchanges, including Bybit.

During the 2022 FTX collapse, Zhou stated that real liquidations were 4-6 times worse than publicized, illustrating a trend of underreporting in the volatile crypto market. This article examines Bybit’s CEO Ben Zhou’s warning about significant underreported crypto liquidations post-US tariffs, raising alarms for investors and analysts alike.

Bybit’s Zhou Sounds Alarm on Liquidations Amid Tariff Impacts

Ben Zhou, the CEO of Bybit, has raised critical concerns as the crypto market grapples with extreme volatility triggered by recent US tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico. Zhou asserts that estimated liquidations could range between $8 to $10 billion, a stark contrast to lower reported figures. The market, still shaken by the repercussions of the FTX collapse in 2022, has been hit hard by the framing of these statistics.

These new tariffs, initially designed for economic measures, have inadvertently disrupted the crypto ecosystem. Zhou elaborated on how the crypto industry experienced losses estimated at $2 billion, although he firmly believes that such numbers grossly understate the reality of the situation:

“I am afraid that today real total liquidation is a lot more than $2 billion; by my estimation it should be at least around $8-10 billion. FYI, Bybit 24 hour liquidation alone was $2.1 billion,” Zhou stated, emphasizing theneed for transparency in reporting.

The Comparison with the 2022 FTX Collapse

Reflecting on past experiences, Zhou draws parallels to the devastating impacts of the 2022 FTX collapse, which exposed significant discrepancies in reported and actual liquidation figures. During that tumultuous period, reported liquidations were grossly underrepresented, signaling to investors that the crypto space is subject to substantial misreporting:

“The real liquidations during the FTX collapse were at least 4-