Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek has urged global regulators to launch a full-scale investigation into crypto exchanges following an unprecedented $20 billion in liquidations — the largest single-day wipeout in market history, dwarfing previous crashes such as FTX and COVID-19 in scale and speed.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday, Marszalek questioned whether certain exchanges may have slowed trading systems, mispriced assets, or failed to maintain proper risk controls amid extreme volatility.

“Regulators should look into the exchanges that had the most liquidations in the last 24 hours,” Marszalek wrote. “Did any of them grind to a halt, preventing users from trading? Were trades executed at fair market prices, consistent with global indexes?”

According to data from CoinGlass, decentralized exchange Hyperliquid recorded the largest single-day liquidations at $10.31 billion, followed by Bybit with $4.65 billion, and Binance with $2.41 billion. Other platforms like OKX, HTX, and Gate.io saw smaller but still significant wipeouts, ranging between $250 million and $1.2 billion.

The event marks a historic moment in crypto market volatility, as over-leveraged positions were wiped out at a scale previously unseen. Analysts noted that the surge in trading activity, combined with liquidity crunches and sudden price distortions, contributed to the record liquidation volume.

Binance Responds to Forced Liquidations Amid Token Depeg

Binance confirmed that a price depeg event involving Ethena’s USDe, BNSOL, and WBETH tokens triggered automatic liquidations for several users. The exchange said it was investigating affected accounts and would implement “appropriate compensation measures” where warranted.

Several users alleged that Binance malfunctioned during the crash, closing short positions while leaving longs open — resulting in total portfolio losses. One trader noted that identical positions on rival exchanges such as Lighter and Extended survived the volatility.

Binance co-founder Yi He issued a public apology, acknowledging platform instability amid “significant market fluctuations and an overwhelming influx of users.” She emphasized that while Binance would compensate users for verified platform errors, losses from market movements or unrealized profits would not be eligible.

Crypto analyst Quinten François said total market liquidations of $19.3 billion were ten times greater than during both the FTX collapse ($1.6B) and the March 2020 COVID-19 crash ($1.2B).

Trump’s 100% China Tariffs Spark Market Chaos

The crypto market’s sharp downturn coincided with U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of sweeping 100% tariffs on all Chinese imports, set to take effect on Nov. 1. The move was a direct response to Beijing’s new export restrictions on rare earth minerals, critical components used in semiconductors, batteries, and renewable technologies.

China, which supplies nearly 70% of the world’s rare earths, will now require an export license for any product containing more than 0.1% of these materials, effective Dec. 1. Trump denounced the policy as “a moral disgrace” and reportedly reconsidered attending a planned meeting with President Xi Jinping at the upcoming APEC Summit.

The tariff announcement sent shockwaves across global markets, prompting an immediate sell-off in equities and risk assets — including crypto. Traders cited algorithmic liquidations and cascading margin calls as the primary drivers behind the $20 billion wipeout.