Bitcoin Rally Triggers Record $3B Short Squeeze as BTC Tops $71K

Crypto bears lost approximately $2.74 billion over a 24-hour period as Bitcoin rallied, surpassing the short-side liquidation total recorded during the October 2025 crash.
Nearly $2.7 billion in short positions were forcibly closed as Bitcoin moved above $71,000, marking the largest short liquidation wave in data available since 2021.
Total crypto liquidations approached $3 billion across 172,108 traders, according to CoinGlass. Short positions represented roughly 92% of the total, compared with around $257 million in long liquidations.
A liquidation occurs when an exchange automatically closes a leveraged position after a trader’s losses leave insufficient margin to keep the trade open.

The scale of Wednesday’s move stands out against the October 2025 crash. On Oct. 10, Bitcoin plunged after reaching a record above $126,000, triggering roughly $19 billion in liquidations in a single day.
That remains the largest crypto deleveraging event on record, with about $2.47 billion of the total coming from short positions.
Wednesday’s short liquidations exceeded that amount, although the broader market did not experience the same level of long-side losses associated with a major market collapse.
Bitcoin traded around $69,100 during Thursday’s Asian session, up nearly 8% over the previous 24 hours after briefly reaching close to $69,900.
BTC had recovered more than $5,700 from Wednesday’s low near $64,100, bringing it back to levels last seen in early June.

The short squeeze unfolded rapidly, with more than $1 billion in Bitcoin short positions liquidated in roughly one hour. Total BTC short liquidations reached approximately $1.42 billion over 24 hours.
Ether accounted for around $1.13 billion in liquidations, while Solana contributed roughly $104.67 million.
The largest individual position liquidated was a $48.8 million Bitcoin trade on Hyperliquid.

The record figures may not fully reflect the actual scale of the forced closures. Binance restricted its liquidation reporting in April 2021, while CoinGlass only publishes one liquidation order per second from the exchange.
As a result, Wednesday’s total as well as historical figures could underestimate the true amount of liquidated positions.

Bitcoin’s ability to remain above $71,000 during the European trading session could determine whether the latest rally has further momentum.
A major short squeeze can rapidly remove bearish positioning from the market, eliminating some of the buying pressure created by forced closures. If fresh demand fails to take over, a rally driven mainly by short covering could give back part of its gains.