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 million, respectively. In total, this sector cost bears more than $30 million in a matter of hours.
- Bitcoin (BTC):Recorded the largest nominal volume of short liquidations at $384.71 million. The leading cryptocurrency rose 5.73%, surpassing the $85,000 mark. The day's largest single liquidation, worth $11.29 million, occurred on Binance in the BTCUSDT trading pair.
- Ethereum (ETH):Sellers of the second-largest cryptocurrency lost $157.97 million as the asset strengthened toward the major psychological level of $2,710, gaining 5.80% over the past 24 hours.
- Solana (SOL):The token's 8.15% surge to $117.28 triggered $20.21 million in forced short-position liquidations.
According to liquidity distribution maps, new critical zones for Bitcoin and Ethereum short sellers have now shifted to $86,385 ($72.26 million at risk) and $2,757 ($30.31 million at risk), respectively. Prices need to rise by less than 2% to reach these levels of maximum potential losses.
For NEAR and XRP bears, critical zones of renewed pressure are now concentrated at $4.28 and $1.49, respectively. The rapid decline in open interest in short positions points to a local capitulation of sellers and a shift in momentum toward buyers in the spot market.