Crypto Bears Face $400M Wipeout, Marking Highest Liquidations Since May as BTC, ETH, SOL Climb

Crypto Bears Face $460M Liquidation Hit as Bitcoin, Ether, and Solana Surge

A sudden surge in top cryptocurrencies has delivered a painful blow to bearish traders, triggering more than $460 million in liquidations—the largest wave since May.

Bitcoin (BTC) shot past $112,000, briefly peaking at $112,482.88, while Ether (ETH) rallied nearly 7% to $2,807.16, and Solana (SOL) climbed above $158. The rapid gains forced exchanges to close out leveraged short positions, adding fuel to the rally as traders scrambled to cover losses.

Data from Coinglass shows that over 114,000 traders were liquidated in the past 12 hours, with combined losses exceeding $527 million. Short liquidations made up the bulk of that total at around $463 million, while long liquidations accounted for about $64 million. The single largest wipeout involved a $51.5 million short position in BTC-USDT on HTX.

Liquidations happen when traders who’ve borrowed funds to bet on price movements can’t meet margin requirements as the market moves against them. Exchanges forcibly close those positions to protect both traders and platforms from deeper losses. Such events often intensify market swings, creating short squeezes that propel prices even higher.

These liquidation cascades are key signals for crypto traders. Clusters of forced exits can hint at either trend reversals or the continuation of a strong move. Savvy traders often watch this data closely, sometimes positioning themselves to profit from sudden price spikes triggered by overcrowded short or long trades.

Despite the dramatic action, BTC has logged just a 2% gain over the past week, while ETH and XRP have each advanced more than 7%, suggesting altcoins may be leading this leg of the market’s rally.