BTC Surges Past $118,000 as Short Sellers Face $1B in Liquidations

Bitcoin Smashes Past $118K, Wiping Out Over $1 Billion in Shorts

Bitcoin (BTC) surged beyond $118,000 on Thursday, unleashing the largest wave of liquidations this year and dealing a heavy blow to traders betting against the rally.

In the last 24 hours, crypto markets saw more than $1.13 billion in liquidations, with short sellers absorbing a massive $1.01 billion in losses—the biggest short-side wipeout of 2025 so far.

BTC futures led the action, fueling $590 million in liquidations, trailed by ether (ETH) futures, which wiped out another $241 million in positions.

Open interest in bitcoin-tracked futures soared by $2 billion in just four hours, with the long-to-short ratio leaning bullish at 52%, indicating growing confidence in continued price gains.

About 237,000 traders were liquidated in total, with the largest single hit being an $88.5 million BTC-USDT short on the HTX exchange. Nearly 90% of all liquidated positions were shorts, underscoring how heavily traders had positioned against bitcoin’s ascent.

Bybit absorbed the biggest hit, logging $461 million in liquidations, with over 93% coming from shorts. Binance and HTX followed with $204 million and $193 million, respectively.

Short liquidations happen when traders borrow funds to bet on declining prices, only to be forced out of their trades as the market climbs. This forced buying can further accelerate price surges, creating rapid upward spirals.

Bitcoin’s latest rally comes amid renewed optimism in the crypto space, buoyed by signals of potential policy shifts in the U.S. and strength in traditional equities. BTC set fresh all-time highs late Thursday, while other major cryptocurrencies like XRP [$2.7601], ether, dogecoin (DOGE at $0.2032), and Solana’s SOL gained as much as 5%, each riding their own bullish narratives.