Bitcoin liquidations exceed $684M in 24 hours as shorts get crushed

The crypto derivatives market just had a very expensive day. Over $684 million in leveraged positions were wiped out across exchanges in a 24-hour window, with short sellers absorbing the lion’s share of the pain at roughly $422 million in liquidations compared to $261 million from longs. Approximately 100,000 traders were caught on the wrong side of the trade. Where the damage landed Bitcoin accounted for roughly $182 million of the total liquidations. Ethereum actually led the carnage with approximately $262 million in forced closures, suggesting ETH traders were running hotter leverage into what turned out to be a volatile session. The single largest individual liquidation was a $20.28 million ETH-USD perpetual position on Hyperliquid. Binance, Hyperliquid, Bybit, OKX, and Gate.io all saw substantial volume surges as the liquidation cascade unfolded. Bitcoin is currently trading near $77,000, a level that reflects the intensity of the price swings that triggered the wave of forced closures. The macro trigger This wasn’t a crypto-native event. The liquidation wave coincided with a cocktail of macroeconomic pressures that sent risk assets broadly lower before a sharp reversal puni...