Crypto liquidations reach $747 million over 24 hours

Short Sellers Take the Bigger Hit

More than 103,600 traders were liquidated across crypto derivatives markets in a single 24-hour window, according to CoinGlass data. Total liquidations reached $747 million, with short positions absorbing the larger share of the damage at $424.80 million, against $322.50 million wiped from long positions.

$ETH was the hardest-hit asset, accounting for $296.97 million in liquidations. $BTC followed at $203.95 million, with the remainder spread across smaller altcoins and token pairs. The scale of the move underlines how quickly leveraged positions can unwind when markets shift direction.

A liquidation happens when a trader borrows to make a bigger bet than their capital would cover, the market moves against them, and the exchange closes the position automatically before losses exceed the margin posted.

Hyperliquid Records the Largest Single Liquidation

The single largest forced closure of the session was a $20.28 million ETH-USD perpetual position on Hyperliquid, the decentralized exchange that has become the dominant venue for on-chain derivatives trading. Hyperliquid is a purpose-built Layer-1 blockchain that processed $633 billion in trading volume in Q1 2026 alone. According to Artemis, Hyperliquid captures over 70% of the entire decentralized perpetual futures market measured by open interest.

That dominance means large forced closures increasingly show up on its books rather than at centralized rivals. The concentration of the session's largest liquidation on Hyperliquid is a direct reflection of its growing weight in the market.

The latest data adds to a broader pattern of periodic liquidation cascades as crypto markets continue to attract leveraged participation. Liquidations play a crucial role in market volatility, often having a significant impact on traders' positions and price movements. When clusters of leveraged bets get caught on the wrong side of a move, the resulting forced closures can amplify price swings in either direction.

Sources:
CoinGlass: Crypto Liquidations Data
VanEck: Exploring Hyperliquid, Redefining Derivatives Trading
Crypto Briefing: Hyperliquid Captures Decentralized Perpetual Trading Volume