Over the past 24 hours, leveraged trades worth over $361 million have been liquidated as Bitcoin (BTC) reached a new record high of $73,050. However, the price quickly dropped below $70,000 on March 12, resulting in the liquidation of mostly long positions, amounting to $258 million, while short sellers lost just over $103 million, according to data from Coinglass, a crypto trading and information platform.
This is the largest liquidation of long positions since March 5, when Bitcoin fell to $60,800 after reaching its previous all-time high of around $69,000.
Although there was some volatility this time, with Bitcoin’s price swinging 4.85% between its low of $69,365 and its high of $72,733, it has since stabilized at $71,400.
A spokesperson from 10x Research told Cointelegraph that the increase in volatility is likely due to traders expecting a price correction. However, they also noted that there is a lot of fear of missing out (FOMO), which suggests that the rally may continue.
In addition, 10x Research observed a 5% increase in futures open interest over the weekend, which they believe were placed with tight stops.
Bitcoin and Ether (ETH) were responsible for the majority of liquidations in the past 24 hours, with $106.3 million and $73.3 million, respectively. Other cryptocurrencies such as Solana (SOL), Dogecoin (DOGE), and the Bitcoin-based memecoin Ordi (ORDI) also experienced significant liquidations.
OKX had the highest number of short and long liquidations, totaling $152 million, while Binance traders saw combined losses of $128.4 million.
According to research firm S3 Partners, short sellers have lost over $6 billion in their attempts to bet against publicly traded crypto firms in the first 11 months of 2023, as Bitcoin surged 130% to $37,800.
In conclusion, the recent liquidation of leveraged trades highlights the volatility in the cryptocurrency market, with Bitcoin reaching new highs and experiencing price swings. Traders are anticipating a price correction but are also driven by FOMO, which could lead to further rallies. Short sellers have faced significant losses, emphasizing the challenges they face in betting against the crypto market.