Bitcoin’s Surge Past $118K Sparks Over $1 Billion in Short Liquidations

Bitcoin BTC [$117,307.87] rocketed past the $118,000 mark, sparking the largest liquidation event of the year and delivering a severe blow to leveraged bears.

In the past 24 hours, crypto markets witnessed more than $1.13 billion in liquidations, with short positions accounting for a staggering $1.01 billion—the biggest short squeeze of 2025 so far.

Open interest in BTC futures swelled by $2 billion over the last four hours, with bullish sentiment prevailing as the long-short ratio tipped to 52% in favor of longs, signaling increasing confidence in further price gains.

Bitcoin futures led the carnage, causing $590 million in liquidations, followed by ether (ETH) futures with $241 million in wiped-out positions.

Altogether, roughly 237,000 traders were liquidated, with the single biggest hit being an $88.5 million BTC-USDT short on HTX. Nearly 90% of all liquidations were shorts, underscoring how aggressively traders were betting against bitcoin’s rally.

Bybit bore the brunt of the damage, recording $461 million in total liquidations, with over 93% from short positions. Binance and HTX followed, tallying $204 million and $193 million, respectively.

Short liquidations occur when traders borrow funds to bet against rising prices but are forced to close out their positions as the market moves higher. These forced buybacks can further fuel upward price momentum, amplifying rallies in reflexive waves.

The latest liquidation wave coincided with renewed optimism in crypto markets, driven by signals of policy shifts in the U.S. and continued strength in equities. Bitcoin set new all-time highs late Thursday, while other major tokens like XRP [$2.7601], ether, dogecoin DOGE [$0.2032], and Solana’s SOL climbed as much as 5% on a variety of bullish narratives.