Crypto platform Blockchain.com has rolled out a new perpetual futures trading feature within its non-custodial DeFi wallet, allowing traders to open leveraged positions directly from the wallet.

 

The new feature, according to Blockchain.com, allows traders to trade perpetual futures directly where their assets are held, eliminating the need to continuously move or convert funds between exchanges and platforms. Traders on Blockchain.com can now access more than 190 crypto markets with leverage of up to 40x, without futures contracts expiring.

 

 

The newly launched feature is powered by the decentralized exchange Hyperliquid and is aimed at removing friction associated with derivatives and futures trading.

 

"We have spent the last decade focused on making crypto easy and borderless for everyone," said Nic Cary, co-founder and vice chairman of Blockchain.com. "We want to make the jump from holding your crypto to actually using it feel instant," he added. "By letting you fund your account with your own Bitcoin while keeping full control of your keys, we are proving that managing your own money can actually be the easiest way to trade."

 

Some of the features of this new perpetual futures trading offering include real-time pricing, flexible leverage options, and intuitive risk management tools, all designed to operate seamlessly within the wallet interface. Users can open, manage, and close positions while maintaining full control of their private keys.

 

The Perps Space is Extremely Active

Perpetual futures, which involve speculating on the price of an asset using leverage without directly owning that asset, have grown in recent times.

 

According to a report from CryptoQuant, perpetual futures trading volume reached $61.7 trillion in 2025, a 29% increase from the previous year and a 232% increase compared to the $18.6 trillion spot crypto trading volume for that year. There has also been an increase in institutions offering perpetual futures trading.

 

Just this week, prediction market platform Polymarket announced its expansion into perpetual futures trading. Meanwhile, last week, Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, announced it would acquire crypto derivatives platform Bitnomial for up to $550 million, as part of Kraken’s broader strategy to expand into perpetual futures trading.

 

On October 10, nearly $20 billion in leveraged crypto positions were wiped out in the largest dollar-value liquidation on record. Was it caused by misunderstood Chinese policy, whale games, or simply the structural fragility of crypto itself?

 

When Bitcoin plunged below $110,000 on October 10 and altcoins followed, the fallout was brutal: nearly $20 billion in leveraged positions were liquidated in less than 24 hours. It was the largest liquidation event by dollar value in crypto’s history, sparking a familiar debate. Was this a story of miscommunication and misunderstanding, market manipulation by whales, or just another case of crypto being crypto?

 

Miscommunication: China’s Rare Earth Shock

The event came just as China announced expanded rare earth export controls, restricting not only raw minerals but also certain processing technologies critical to semiconductors, defense, and renewable energy. Officials stressed that this was not a full export ban and that many civilian uses would remain licensed. But in the fog of fast headlines, nuance was lost. Traders interpreted the move as a dramatic chokehold on global supply chains, fueling a risk-off reaction that bled into crypto markets.

 

Manipulation: Exploiting Panic

For many observers, the timing was too perfect. Crypto derivatives markets are transparent — whales can see where liquidation clusters sit and, in thin liquidity, it doesn’t take much to push the market into those zones. With rare earth headlines dominating the narrative, opportunistic players may have shorted aggressively, triggered forced selling, and then covered at lower levels. Whether provable or not, the pattern of “liquidation hunting” under cover of macro news is a familiar one in this space.

 

Over-Leverage and Thin Liquidity: The Dry Tinder

Even without miscommunication or manipulation, crypto was already fragile. Leading into October, open interest in Bitcoin futures had climbed sharply, and funding rates revealed crowded long positions. Add thin liquidity during the Asian session, and the market was primed for a cascade. Once BTC slipped into liquidation zones, forced sells and margin calls amplified the move across the entire market.

 

The Convergence

In reality, the October 10 wipeout was the convergence of all three factors:

 

• Miscommunication over China’s policy spurred panic.

• Whales likely weaponized the headlines to hunt leveraged positions.

• Over-leverage and structural fragility guaranteed that once the dominoes fell, they fell hard.

   

 

 

Lessons Learned

The takeaway is less about choosing which factor “caused” the crash and more about understanding how macro shocks, manipulation, and crypto’s design flaws intersect. Until leverage is better managed, liquidity deepens, and communication improves at the policy level, events like this will continue to punctuate crypto’s story. The October 10 liquidation event wasn’t just “crypto being crypto.” It was a perfect storm where miscommunication, manipulation, and structural fragility collided — and it’s a reminder that in this market, volatility is not the exception but the rule.