Bitcoin’s rise toward $70,000 triggers $3 billion in liquidations
Short sellers lost nearly $2.7 billion in just 24 hours as Bitcoin moved toward $70,000. It marked the largest wave of forced short-position closures in records available since 2021.
According to CoinDesk, total liquidations across the crypto market approached $3 billion and affected 172,108 traders. Around 92% of that amount came from short positions, while long liquidations totaled just $257 million.
Record liquidations
The scale of the event becomes even clearer when compared with the market crash of October 10, 2025. At the time, Bitcoin plunged just days after setting an all-time high above $126,000, while total liquidations reached $19 billion in a single day. That episode remains the largest deleveraging event in crypto market history. However, short positions accounted for around $2.47 billion of the total.
This means Wednesday’s short liquidations were even larger than during the biggest crypto market crash on record. At the same time, there was no comparable wave of long-position liquidations like the one seen in October 2025.
Over the past 24 hours, Bitcoin’s price approached $69,900. From Wednesday’s local low of around $64,100, the asset gained more than $5,700. Bitcoin had not traded at these levels since early June.
The short squeeze was both sharp and concentrated. More than $1 billion worth of Bitcoin short positions were forcibly closed in roughly one hour, with the daily total reaching $1.42 billion. Ethereum accounted for another $1.13 billion in short liquidations, while Solana contributed $104.67 million. The largest single liquidated position was a $48.8 million Bitcoin trade on Hyperliquid.
Why short sellers were liquidated
Traders betting on a decline in Bitcoin took the biggest hit. They opened short positions expecting the price to fall, but the sharp move toward $70,000 quickly pushed those trades into losses. Leveraged positions were particularly vulnerable, as even a relatively small move against a trader can result in substantial losses.
When losses on such a position reach a certain threshold, the exchange automatically closes it to prevent the trader’s collateral from falling further. In the case of shorts, this means being forced to buy the asset at the current market price. As a result, mass liquidations not only pushed bearish traders out of the market but also created additional buying pressure, further accelerating Bitcoin’s rise.
As a reminder, Treasury bond buybacks and a proposal from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission are supporting the price rally.
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