$162.95 Million in Crypto Liquidations as Short Squeeze Hits Bitcoin, Ethereum

More than $162.95 million in leveraged crypto positions were wiped out over the past 24 hours, with forced closures skewing heavily toward bearish wagers. The liquidation burst—dominated by short positions—suggests that a modest uptick in major tokens was enough to trigger a broad 'short squeeze' across top-traded markets.

According to CoinGlass data timestamped at 11:00 UTC on Aug. 6 (8:00 p.m. KST), liquidations across the top 20 tracked instruments totaled $162.95 million. Shorts accounted for $111.02 million, or 68.13% of the total, while longs made up $51.93 million—meaning short liquidations were roughly 2.1 times larger than long liquidations.

Despite the scale of liquidations, spot moves in headline assets were relatively contained. Bitcoin (BTC) traded around $64,539, up 0.83% on the day, while Ethereum (ETH) rose 1.79% to roughly $1,900, based on CoinMarketCap pricing. Several major altcoins were mixed: Solana (SOL) slipped 0.80%, XRP (XRP) fell 1.43%, Hyperliquid (HYPE) declined 3.32%, and Dogecoin (DOGE) eased 0.91%.

The liquidation leaderboard was led by Bitcoin, which recorded $55.06 million in forced closures. Notably, roughly 90% of BTC liquidations were shorts, indicating that traders positioned for downside were disproportionately caught offside as price drifted higher. Ethereum followed closely with $50.18 million in liquidations, also heavily short-biased, with about 80% attributed to short positions.

Outside of the two largest cryptocurrencies, liquidation patterns diverged by instrument. CoinGlass showed SNDK with $19.46 million in liquidations, tilted toward longs (about 80%). Gold (XAU) registered $11.70 million and was overwhelmingly short-led (about 94%), highlighting that leveraged positioning stress extended beyond crypto-native markets in CoinGlass’ tracked set. XRP posted $5.90 million in liquidations with a striking long concentration (about 98%), while SPCX and SOL also leaned toward long liquidations. Additional names on the list included Micron ($MU), where long liquidations accounted for roughly 58% of the total.

Market observers often view liquidation clusters as a window into crowded positioning rather than a standalone directional signal. A short-heavy washout can temporarily reduce immediate sell pressure—since the positions have already been closed—yet it can also increase near-term volatility as traders re-enter and liquidity conditions reset. The data also underscores how quickly leverage can amplify relatively small spot moves, particularly when price edges through commonly watched levels that concentrate stop-outs and margin calls.

CoinGlass noted that the figure reflects the combined liquidation totals for its top 20 instruments and is not a measure of the entire crypto market. Because exchanges and data providers can differ in methodology and product coverage, liquidation totals may vary across platforms.

For now, the 24-hour snapshot points to a market still prone to leverage-driven swings, where even modest price changes in Bitcoin and Ethereum can cascade into outsized forced liquidations—an environment that typically keeps risk appetite uneven and intraday liquidity highly sensitive.