Liquidation

Each leveraged position must keep a minimum amount of margin, often called maintenance margin. When losses push the account below that level, the exchange closes the position automatically. This is a liquidation.

Liquidations are executed as market orders. When many happen at once, that forced buying or selling can push price further and trigger the next group, a chain reaction often called a liquidation cascade.

Crypto data sites publish estimated liquidation totals and “liquidation maps”. These are estimates built from public exchange data and assumptions about where positions sit, not exact records.