Crypto liquidations totaled $974.80 million over 24 hours as the market climbed, with most of the losses falling on traders who had bet on further declines, according to Coinglass data.
Bitcoin rose 4.64% over the period to $80,480, leaving the cryptocurrency just above $80,000, a level it has struggled to hold since late October.
Short Sellers Carry the Losses
Short positions accounted for $575.48 million, or 59%, of the 24-hour liquidation total, while long positions lost $399.32 million over the same window.
Bitcoin led all assets with $396.04 million in liquidations. Shorts made up 78.2% of that figure, a higher share than the 59% recorded across the broader market.
Ethereum outpaced Bitcoin with a 6.84% gain over 24 hours to $2,418. Its $241.79 million in liquidations leaned less toward shorts, which accounted for 56.5%.
Coinglass counted 128,911 liquidated traders over the period. The largest single order was a $38 million ETH-USDT long on HTX.
Binance carried 39% of all liquidations, the largest share of any exchange. That share comes days after the exchange reopened withdrawals following a record $6.3 billion hack.
Can Bitcoin Hold $80,000?
The rally put Bitcoin back above a level it has struggled around since late October.
BTC fell below $80,000 on October 24, when more than $200 million in crypto leverage unwound within an hour, with long bets making up most of that wipeout. It traded around $80,800 on October 28 before Binance hack concerns sank it below $78,000 a day later.
On Wednesday, BTC dropped to about $75,700 before traders placed bullish options bets and the price rebounded above $78,300.
With 78.2% of Bitcoin's liquidations coming from shorts, much of the forced buying behind this rally may be spent. A hold above $80,000 would then depend on fresh spot demand, while a drop back below it would echo late October, when longs absorbed most of the liquidations.
BeInCrypto Markets data puts Bitcoin 36.2% below its $126,080 all-time high from October 6, 2025. Closing that gap would take sustained spot buying, which forced short covering alone cannot supply.
