Crypto Shorts Dominate $139 Million Liquidations as Solana Triggers Squeeze

Crypto derivatives traders saw another wave of forced unwinds over the past day, with liquidation data pointing to a market that was pressured by abrupt short-covering rather than a clean risk-off selloff. In the last 24 hours, at least $139.77 million in leveraged positions was liquidated across major exchanges, according to CoinGlass.

The breakdown showed an overwhelming tilt toward shorts: roughly $130.26 million in short positions were wiped out versus about $9.51 million in long liquidations, meaning around 93.2% of the total came from short liquidations. The imbalance suggests pockets of ‘short squeeze’ dynamics—where traders betting on downside are forced to buy back positions as price moves against them—despite only modest headline moves in the largest tokens.

In the most recent four-hour window, liquidations totaled $40.58 million. Binance led the pack with $18.35 million, representing 45.21% of the total. Notably, Binance’s four-hour liquidations skewed long-heavy, with $13.31 million (72.57%) coming from long liquidations and $5.03 million from shorts, highlighting how positioning can diverge sharply by venue even when the aggregate 24-hour picture is dominated by short wipes.

Bybit followed with $5.97 million (14.7%), while Bitget posted $4.63 million (11.4%) and Gate recorded $4.55 million (11.2%). OKX saw $3.58 million (8.83%) in liquidations, with longs accounting for 51.52%—one of the more balanced long-short splits among major exchanges during the interval.

Elsewhere, directional crowding was stark. Hyperliquid recorded $1.39 million in liquidations, with 99.15% attributed to longs, implying an unusually one-sided positioning washout. HTX also showed a pronounced long bias, with longs comprising 89.34% of its liquidations over the same period.

On a 24-hour, token-by-token basis, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) remained the core focal points for derivatives positioning. Bitcoin saw about $16.50 million in total liquidations (roughly $8.10 million long and $8.40 million short) while trading near $87,961, down around 0.1% over the day. Ethereum posted about $375,500 in liquidations (approximately $193,100 long and $182,400 short) as it traded near $2,043, down about 0.5% over 24 hours.

CoinGlass heatmap rankings also placed Ethereum and Bitcoin at the top by liquidation size, each near $58 million, underscoring that even when spot moves are muted, leverage concentrated in the two largest assets can still drive heavy forced flows in perps and futures.

The standout anomaly was Solana (SOL). Despite a relatively limited 24-hour price decline of about 1.9%, SOL registered an unusually large liquidation print in the provided dataset: roughly $131.50 million in total, driven overwhelmingly by about $130.13 million in short liquidations versus around $137,400 in longs. The disconnect between price movement and liquidation magnitude points to a sharp ‘short squeeze’ episode or concentrated position closures around specific levels—conditions that can emerge when liquidity thins and funding-driven positioning becomes crowded.

Among other large-cap altcoins, XRP saw roughly $578,200 in 24-hour liquidations and traded broadly flat, while Dogecoin (DOGE) posted about $224,420 in liquidations with a roughly 0.7% decline. Sui (SUI) recorded about $176,270 in liquidations, though a 24-hour price change figure was not provided in the dataset. A range of additional tokens—including Aptos (APT), BNB (BNB), Cardano (ADA), Toncoin (TON), Avalanche (AVAX), Chainlink (LINK), Polkadot (DOT), and Litecoin (LTC)—were also cited as skewing toward long liquidations amid generally softer price action.

In a separate four-hour heatmap snapshot, Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC) again ranked at the top near $58 million each, while two smaller-cap tokens—RAVE and Highstreet (HIGH)—also posted large liquidation figures. The presence of sizable liquidations in comparatively lower market-cap names suggests short-term volatility is spreading beyond majors, with leverage increasingly concentrated in select altcoins where order books can be thinner and cascading liquidations more likely.

Liquidations occur when an exchange forcibly closes a leveraged position after margin falls below required thresholds, often amplifying market swings as forced buying or selling hits the tape. The latest data depicts a market where ‘liquidity-driven’ squeezes—especially on the short side—can emerge abruptly, while isolated altcoins show outsized vulnerability to leverage crowding even when spot prices appear relatively contained.