The price of bitcoin surpassed the $67,000 mark on Friday, reaching a peak of $67,482 per unit, the highest value since late April. This increase has resulted in the liquidation of nearly $45 million in leveraged bitcoin short positions over the past day.
$120M in Crypto Positions Liquidated as Bitcoin Climbs Above $67K
Bitcoin short positions continue to be eliminated. Essentially, a short position in bitcoin derivatives allows investors to magnify their potential gains from a price decline. If the price moves in the opposite direction, those positions risk liquidation.
At noon Eastern Time on Friday, BTC hit an intraday high at $67,482 per unit.
Today, 41,829 traders have been wiped out as $120.07 million worth of positions were eradicated. Of those positions, $80.65 million were short bets and $39.42 million were long bets wagering on crypto prices to rise. Approximately $44.89 million in BTC shorts were liquidated by 12 p.m. EDT on Friday over the past 24 hours.
Additionally, $24.01 million in ETH shorts were liquidated, $7.37 million in SOL shorts were wiped out, and LINK saw $2.76 million in shorts eradicated. Both short and long positions in derivatives markets carry significant risk, especially in the volatile crypto market. Bitcoin price movements can be swift and unpredictable, as evidenced this week, causing the downfall of short traders.
Over the 24-hour period, most liquidations stemmed from Binance, which witnessed $19.3 million worth of wipeouts. Okx took the second position with $10.33 million in liquidations. Other notable leading exchanges in terms of liquidations included Bybit, Coinex, and Bitmex.
Together, Binance and Okx represented $29.63 million of the liquidations, accounting for 66% of the liquidation activity over the past day. Amid the tumultuous crypto landscape, the recent rise in bitcoin’s value has significantly impacted traders and highlighted the inherent volatility of this emerging market domain.