Bitcoin long liquidations near $160M as BTC slips under $62K

Bitcoin long positions lost about $160 million after the price slipped below $62,000 on Tuesday morning, contributing to more than $700 million in liquidations across the crypto market.

The sell-off began around 4:30 a.m. EST when bitcoin fell from above $64,000 to just under $62,000, erasing gains made on June 22. Bitcoin’s market capitalization declined to about $1.24 trillion after the move.

Data trackers showed total crypto liquidations exceeded $700 million, with long positions making up roughly 80% of the losses-about $595 million-while short liquidations totaled about $119 million.

Bitcoin registered the largest single-asset liquidation at roughly $193 million in total, with long bets accounting for nearly $160 million and shorts about $54 million. Ethereum saw about $176 million in liquidations, including roughly $148 million tied to long positions. Together, bitcoin and ethereum represented about $369 million of the total liquidations.

Market data indicated 11,877 traders were liquidated worldwide. The largest single reported liquidation was approximately $14.15 million.

Smaller-cap tokens also posted significant liquidations. Solana recorded about $29.5 million in long liquidations and $1.5 million in shorts. Token HYPE had about $14.26 million in long liquidations and nearly $850,000 in shorts. Zcash recorded nearly $8 million liquidated, while Dogecoin and WLD logged roughly $7.9 million and $5.2 million respectively.

Traders described the price action as a liquidity hunt. Bitcoin had climbed near $65,500 earlier, triggering trailing stop-loss orders and attracting breakout buyers. After those stop orders were executed, heavier sellers stepped in and the price reversed, which contributed to the concentration of long-side liquidations.

Technical analysts flagged a nested bear-flag pattern and said that bitcoin could move lower if key resistance levels are not reclaimed. Analyst Cryptogerla posted on social media: “Everyone thinks $ BTC has bottomed. But Bear Flag 2 hasn’t hit its target yet, and Bear Flag 3 is already forming. The trend remains bearish. $50K is still very much in play. Don’t confuse a relief rally with a reversal.”

Earlier in the week, bitcoin traded choppily between about $62,300 and $63,300 before briefly rising above $65,000. The rapid reversal on Tuesday highlights continued volatility in the crypto market and the effect of leveraged positions on price swings.