Crypto Liquidations Hit $967M in 24 Hours as Longs Bear the Brunt

Crypto derivatives saw a sharp wave of forced selling over the past day, with liquidations nearing the $1 billion mark. CoinGlass data shows $967 million in positions were liquidated in the last 24 hours, driven overwhelmingly by traders positioned for upside. Long liquidations totaled about $849 million, roughly 88% of the day's wipeout. The balance came from short positions. Ethereum topped the liquidation leaderboard with $309 million in forced closures, outpacing Bitcoin's roughly $246 million. The ranking stands out given Bitcoin typically leads liquidation events. Bitcoin was trading around $109,200 at the time of reporting, down more than 6% over the week. The move followed an earlier drop to $112,000, marking a second notable long squeeze within just a few days. Some analysts view the shakeout as a potential reset rather than a purely negative signal. On-chain analytics firm Glassnode said deleveraging episodes can clear crowded positioning and reduce near-term risk of cascading declines. For investors, the key takeaway is how one-sided the positioning had become. With 88% of liquidations concentrated in longs, the data highlights an especially crowded bullish trade. High leverage across many crypto venues—often 50x, 100x or more—makes liquidation cascades a recurring feature of the market. Attention now turns to open interest, the total value of outstanding derivatives contracts. A quick rebound could indicate traders are reloading leverage and increasing the odds of another squeeze. If open interest rebuilds more slowly, it would support the view that the deleveraging has left the market on firmer footing.