Ethereum’s native token ether hit an all-time high of $4,953 on Sunday evening, surpassing its November 2021 record for the first time in nearly four years.

Almost immediately after reaching its new record, ETH experienced a sharp pullback — a pattern mirrored across the broader crypto market, with BTC and major altcoins also undergoing steep reversals between 4:30 and 5:00 p.m. ET.

By early Monday morning, the whipsaw had extended further, with bitcoin trading at $111,739 and ETH at $4,609 as of 6 am ET. Over the last 24 hours, $275 million worth of ETH positions were liquidated. Total crypto liquidations topped $800 million over the same period.

This story is an excerpt from the Unchained Daily newsletter.

Economist Alex Kruger described the price action as “brutal.” However, Kruger thinks that the markets are “going higher.”

Cinneamhain Ventures partner Adam Cochran explained that relatively thinner markets on Sunday played a role in the dramatic price action.

On Sundays, some big traders push prices higher to trap others, then suddenly dump a lot of coins into a market where there aren’t many buyers, causing prices to crash and forcing leveraged buyers out of their trades.

“The moves just become exaggerated when there is froth, as late longs chase a perceived breakout,” said Cochran.