Bitcoin (BTC) climbed above $80,000 after the results of the U.S. midterm elections were announced, while approximately $269 million in short positions were liquidated across the cryptocurrency market in one hour.
According to Binance and CoinGlass data reported by Wu Blockchain, Bitcoin was trading at around $80,510 at the time of publication, up 4.2% over the past 24 hours. The price move higher put traders who had opened leveraged positions expecting a decline in a difficult position.
Total liquidations across the market over one hour reached $363.67 million, of which $268.96 million came from short, or bearish, positions. Thus, about three-quarters of the positions liquidated during this short period were trades opened on the expectation that prices would fall.
96% of Bitcoin Liquidations Were Short Positions
Liquidations of Bitcoin positions over the same one-hour period reached $192.26 million. Short positions accounted for 96.4% of that amount, while a total of $124.05 million in Ethereum (ETH) positions were liquidated.
When prices rise, the forced closure of short positions can create additional buying pressure in the market. This process, known as a short squeeze, can also contribute to an acceleration in the rally.
Daily Liquidations Top $933 Million
Total liquidations in the cryptocurrency market reached $933.18 million over the past 24 hours, affecting 120,141 traders. The dominance of bearish trades in the one-hour figures highlighted the scale of positions caught off guard by Bitcoin’s move above $80,000.
Not investment advice.