Bitcoin surged above $68,000 and $1.31 billion in crypto positions liquidated in one hour, mostly short sellers.
DeFi & Yields ·
Bitcoin moved past the $68,000 threshold, reaching $68,418 with a 24-hour gain of 5.47%, while Ethereum climbed to $2,081, up 8.4% in the same period. The rally coincided with significant forced exits across derivatives markets: approximately $1.31 billion in positions were unwound within a single hour, with short sellers bearing the brunt at $1.23 billion of that total.
Over the broader 24-hour window, liquidations accumulated to roughly $1.57 billion, of which shorts represented $1.41 billion. The cascade of exits swept across 114,038 individual traders, with a single Bitget ETHUSDT perpetual contract accounting for $32.18 million of the total damage.
The data illustrates how sharp upward price movement can trigger cascading liquidations, particularly among leveraged short positions betting against the market. What remains unclear is whether this liquidation event will sustain momentum or reverse as traders reassess positioning at these new price levels.