XRP and NEAR Lead Altcoin Squeeze as Crypto Short Sellers Lose $666 Million in 24 Hours
The cryptocurrency derivatives market has recorded its largest wave of forced short-position liquidations in months. According to analytics platform CoinGlass, a sharp rise in prices over the past 24 hours triggered the liquidation of short positions worth a total of $665.81 million. Total daily trader losses, including long positions, reached $789.57 million, affecting 117,942 market participants. Global cryptocurrency liquidation heatmap showing total market wipeouts, Source: CoinGlass Altcoin sellers bore the brunt of the losses. While forced liquidations have historically been concentrated among major cryptocurrencies, the current cycle has seen a broad range of assets join the cascade of stop-order executions, led by XRP, NEAR, and Zcash. The excessive accumulation of highly leveraged short positions created the conditions for a classic short squeeze. Once prices reached critical trigger levels, exchanges automated systems began forcibly buying back assets at market prices to cover outstanding obligations, fueling the upward momentum. Who suffered the most (and where bears should expect the next blow) Daily losses among short sellers were distributed as follows:Large-cap altcoins (XRP, NEAR, ZEC):NEAR led the subgroup, surging 11.51% to $4.06 and triggering $8.88 million in short liquidations. As XRP rallied 7.99% to $1.47 and Zcash (ZEC) gained 6.24% to $1,514.93, sellers lost another $10.04 million and $11.51









