3 Altcoins Facing Major Liquidation Risks In The Last Week Of October

What Happened

A positive report from a16z on the potential of AI Agents has further boosted investor interest in VIRTUAL. At the same time, the x402 token wave has added additional momentum, as the Virtual protocol serves as a key launchpad for AI Agent tokens.

Market Context

The market enters the final week of October dominated by two major narratives: AI Agents and Privacy. As a result, several altcoins in these sectors face significant liquidation risks if prices move against traders’ expectations.

However, on-chain data shows that SOL reserves on exchanges have been steadily rising since early October. This trend indicates a growing readiness among holders to sell, raising the risk of a sudden price drop.

If SOL falls to $178, the cumulative liquidation volume for long positions could reach $1.6 billion. In contrast, if SOL climbs to $225, around $260 million could be liquidated from short positions.

Former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes recently predicted that ZEC could reach $10,000, helping fuel a strong rally through October that pushed prices above $370.

Additionally, ZEC’s open interest has reached an all-time high of over $500 million, nearly ten times higher than during its 2021 peak. This indicates that ZEC’s price action is now dominated by derivatives activity, often resulting in sharp volatility.

If VIRTUAL rises to $1.8, the cumulative liquidation volume for short positions could reach $7.8 million.

However, the token’s price jumped over 100% last week—from $0.71 to $1.64—before correcting to around $1.45 at the time of writing. If profit-taking continues and the price drops to $1.29, long liquidations could total $8.8 million.

Why It Matters

Which altcoins are at risk, and what should traders watch for? The following analysis provides the details.

Several factors explain why traders expect SOL to increase. The recent surge in interest around x402 tokens has benefited Solana, as it serves as one of the two key networks—alongside Base—supporting x402 ecosystem payments via the Payai Network facilitator.

A recent BeInCrypto report highlighted that Zcash’s shielded pool has surpassed 4.5 million ZEC, locking nearly 27.5% of its total supply and signaling rising confidence in privacy-focused technology.

However, long traders should be cautious. ZEC has reached levels similar to its 2021 peak, meaning nearly all holders from the past four years are profitable. This could trigger heavy selling pressure and sudden long liquidations.

If ZEC drops to $287, long traders could face over $42 million in liquidation losses. Conversely, a move to $407 could trigger around $23 million in liquidations for short traders.

Details

1. Solana (SOL)

The 7-day liquidation map of Solana (SOL) shows a large imbalance between long and short positions.

Short-term derivatives traders have heavily leveraged bullish positions. They stand to lose the most if SOL fails to rise further this week.

2. Zcash (ZEC)

“ZEC to $10,000.” Arthur Hayes said.

Over the past three months, Zcash (ZEC) has surged more than 750%, driven by renewed attention to privacy coins.

These developments have encouraged derivatives traders to take long positions, leading to a heavily skewed liquidation map favoring longs over shorts.

3. Virtual Protocol (VIRTUAL)

This week, the Virtuals Protocol, an ecosystem for AI agents, saw multiple integrations, including Coinbase Retail DEX listings for all agent tokens.

According to Dune data, the number of daily active addresses on Virtual doubled in October to over 17,000 wallets. This resurgence has strengthened bullish sentiment among long traders.

The key question now is whether the AI Agent and Privacy narratives will lose momentum as quickly as they emerged.