Crypto traders who anticipated further price increases suffered approximately $1.29 billion in forced liquidations over the past 24 hours as the market-wide selloff following Binance’s security breach pushed Bitcoin, Ethereum and several major altcoins lower.
Data from CoinGlass showed that total cryptocurrency liquidations reached $1.53 billion by Friday morning in Asia. Long positions, which profit from rising prices, represented approximately 83.8% of all forced closures.
The majority of the losses occurred during the most recent 12-hour period, when liquidations totaled roughly $1.37 billion. Long traders accounted for approximately $1.23 billion of that amount.
The wave of liquidations followed Thursday’s security incident at Binance, which the exchange estimates affected around $6.3 billion in cryptocurrency assets. Binance has promised to compensate for the losses and temporarily suspended deposits and withdrawals while carrying out security checks.
Bitcoin dropped to approximately $76,460 before recovering toward $78,500. Ether traded near $2,240 after briefly falling below $2,200. Other major cryptocurrencies, including Solana, XRP and Dogecoin, also recorded declines.
Leveraged trading allows investors to control larger positions by providing only a portion of the total trade value as collateral. When prices move sharply against their positions, exchanges automatically close the trades to limit further losses.
Forced closures of long positions generally create additional sell orders, increasing downward pressure during an already declining market.
Bitcoin and Ether Lead Cryptocurrency Liquidations
Bitcoin-related positions accounted for approximately $499 million in forced liquidations, while Ethereum positions contributed another $358 million. Together, the two largest cryptocurrencies represented more than half of the market-wide total.
Solana followed with $82.6 million in liquidations, while XRP recorded $38.1 million and Dogecoin accounted for $18.6 million.
Binance experienced the largest share of forced closures among cryptocurrency exchanges, recording approximately $754.6 million, equivalent to 49.2% of all liquidations. Long positions made up around $670.6 million of the exchange’s total.
Hyperliquid ranked second with $251.4 million in liquidations, followed by Bybit at $186.5 million.
CoinGlass identified the largest individual liquidation as an $11 million Bitcoin long position on Binance.
Market Recovery Starts Putting Pressure on Short Sellers
Although long traders suffered most of the losses during the initial downturn, the subsequent price recovery has begun triggering liquidations among traders betting on further declines.
During the latest four-hour period, short positions accounted for $57.3 million of the $85 million in liquidations. The pressure on bearish traders increased further in the most recent hour, when shorts represented $20.6 million of the $21.6 million total, or approximately 95%.
When short positions are forcibly closed, traders must buy back the assets they previously borrowed or sold. These purchases can add upward pressure to prices, potentially strengthening a market rebound.
The shift in liquidation activity suggests that the market is beginning to punish bearish positions as prices recover from their recent lows.
Related coverage: $6 billion Binance hack sends Bitcoin and Ether tumbling; Standard Chartered expects further losses.
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