The Big Brain Podcast Breaking down crypto's biggest ever liquidation event with Wintermute founder Evgeny Gaevoy
Oct 14, 2025
Evgeny Gaevoy, Founder and CEO of Wintermute, dives into the recent crypto market turmoil, explaining how extreme leverage and forced liquidations caused chaos on October 10th. He details the mechanics of ADL and how it impacted traders, while discussing the potential of circuit breakers to mitigate future risks. Evgeny also analyzes why major cryptocurrencies like BTC and ETH showed resilience, and shares insights on how market makers adapt to constant volatility. His reflections on Wintermute's role in this landscape highlight both challenges and opportunities.
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Use BLP Programs To Absorb Liquidations
- Reintroduce market-maker takeover programs (BLP) so positioned liquidity providers can absorb liquidations.
- Use BLP-like schemes to reduce forced ADL use and stabilize exchanges during shocks.
Transparency And Circuit Breakers Trade Privacy For Safety
- Exchange transparency (like Hyperliquid) can expose liquidation points, which may harm privacy and create targeting risks.
- Circuit breakers and auction modes could prevent extreme, disorderly price collapses for illiquid tokens.
Introduce Selective Circuit Breakers
- Implement selective circuit breakers for instruments that shouldn't decline massively in short windows.
- Coordinate across venues where possible, since isolated breakers are a trade-off and may be undermined by other venues.