Bitcoin dropped to $75,500 as market maker Wintermute built heavy short positions ($146.19M short vs $13.85M long), triggering $350M in liquidations across 90,000+ traders.
Macro & Markets ·
Bitcoin retreated to $75,500 after failing to sustain levels above $77,000, alongside sharp declines in major altcoins including Ethereum and XRP. The downturn coincided with market maker Wintermute building substantial short positions, holding $146.19 million in shorts against $13.85 million in longs on Hyperliquid futures. The imbalance reflected a directional bet against the market after Bitcoin had surged from $64,000 to nearly $80,000 in under 48 hours.
The liquidation cascade followed swiftly: nearly $100 million in longs were wiped out within a single hour, with Ethereum and Bitcoin each accounting for roughly $41.5 million of that damage. Over a 24-hour period, total liquidations reached $350 million, affecting more than 90,000 traders across exchanges. The weekend selloff appeared to confirm technical signals that anticipated a pullback after the rapid advance.
Wintermute's position, carrying $3.66 million in unrealized losses while collecting $2.14 million in funding payments, remained open at the time of reporting. Whether the short positioning preceded or amplified the price decline, and the extent to which retail leverage contributed to the cascade versus professional positioning, remains unclear.