Single SK Hynix share triggers $80 million in crypto derivative liquidations

A single SK Hynix share traded at its lower limit on an alternative trading system, triggering over 80 billion won in liquidations for virtual asset derivatives. The incident highlighted the structural vulnerability of high-leverage derivatives to single, illiquid trades being mistaken for normal prices.

The unusual trade occurred just after the opening of the Nextrade pre-market on July 28, when one SK Hynix share was executed at 1,272,000 won, its lower limit, down 29.99% from the previous day. The stock price quickly recovered to the 1.7 million won range, minimizing its impact on the domestic spot market.

However, the abnormal price was reflected in overseas derivatives pricing. The oracle price for SK Hynix perpetual futures on TradeXy plummeted by 17.9%. On the on-chain derivatives exchange Hyperliquid, long positions worth $57.4 million (approximately 82.6 billion won) were liquidated instantly. Blockchain data firm Allium estimated the actual losses incurred by over 900 users at $17.4 million (about 25.1 billion won).

"An abnormal trade of a single share in the low-volume pre-market led to large-scale liquidations when reflected in derivative prices," explained Park Sung-je, a researcher at Shinhan Investment & Securities. TradeXy announced it would fully cover the liquidation losses, but emphasized this compensation is a one-time measure. Nextrade plans to introduce a volatility control device in September, which will switch to a single-price trading system for two minutes if the price moves more than 10% from the reference price.

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An abnormal trade of a single share in the low-volume pre-market led to large-scale liquidations when reflected in derivative prices.