It's been a brutal week for crypto traders and not just because prices nosedived.

More than $5.3 billion in leveraged long positions, or bullish bets on higher prices, have been liquidated across crypto derivatives markets since Monday, according to CoinGlass data.

Friday alone accounted for roughly $1.4 billion of the damage as bitcoin (BTC) plunged below $60,000 and altcoins suffered even steeper losses.

The scale of the washout rivals the late January-early February selloff, when bitcoin tumbled from around $90,000 to $60,000 in a matter of a week.

There may be a silver lining for bulls.

Large liquidation cascades often mark periods of capitulation, when leverage is flushed out of the system and weaker hands are forced to exit.

Whether this week's wipeout proves to be a durable reset or simply another step lower remains to be seen, but dip-buyers started to step in below $60,000.