Crypto Short Sellers Lose $460M as Bitcoin, Ether, and Solana Rally Past Key Levels
A swift rally in top cryptocurrencies has triggered the biggest wave of liquidations since May, wiping out more than $460 million in short positions and catching bearish traders off guard.
Bitcoin (BTC) surged above $112,000, hitting highs of $112,482.88, while Ether (ETH) soared nearly 7% to $2,807.16, and Solana (SOL) climbed past $158. The rapid price jumps forced exchanges to liquidate heavily leveraged short bets, adding fuel to the upward momentum.
According to Coinglass data, over 114,000 traders were liquidated in just 12 hours, with total losses exceeding $527 million. Short positions accounted for roughly $463 million of that sum, while liquidations on the long side totaled around $64 million. The largest single liquidation involved a $51.5 million BTC-USDT short on HTX.
Liquidations occur when traders using borrowed funds cannot maintain the required margin as prices move against them. Exchanges step in to close those positions to prevent further losses, often leading to sudden price spikes as shorts are forcibly covered—a classic short squeeze.
These sharp liquidation events often amplify volatility and can mark significant turning points in crypto markets. Many traders monitor liquidation data closely, viewing large clusters of liquidations as potential signals of either trend exhaustion or further price continuation. Some even trade specifically around these dynamics, anticipating short squeezes when bearish bets pile up or long flush-outs when bullish positions become overcrowded.
Despite the market fireworks, BTC is only up about 2% for the week, while ETH and XRP have each gained more than 7%, suggesting the current rally is being driven more by major altcoins than by bitcoin alone.
