Crypto Liquidations Top $1B After Bitcoin Falls to $59,018

More than $1 billion in cryptocurrency positions were liquidated in a 24-hour period after bitcoin fell to $59,018, its lowest price in 2026. Market data as of 3 a.m. EST on Thursday showed 176,694 traders were liquidated. Leveraged long positions accounted for $781 million of the total, while short liquidations totaled $218 million. The largest single forced sell order recorded was $12.21 million.

Bitcoin accounted for $413 million of the liquidations, with $320 million in long bets removed and $93.4 million in short positions closed. Data showed a brief bitcoin recovery increased pressure on short sellers. Analysts cautioned that a slide below $58,000 could lead to further large-scale liquidations.

Ethereum liquidations totaled $230 million, with $170 million coming from long positions, about 74% of ethereum’s total liquidations. Ether fell to $1,557, which pushed its market capitalization below $200 billion.

Solana saw $46 million in liquidations after briefly dropping under $65, with $37 million from long positions and $9 million from shorts. Other notable liquidations included XAG at $25.5 million, Dogecoin at $13.4 million, XRP at $12.6 million and HYPE at $7.3 million.

Trading platform data showed aggregate open interest shifting as leveraged traders closed positions. The 24-hour spike in liquidations was the largest single-day flush of leverage since the early June correction.

Social media market analyst Pepesso wrote that concentrated short exposure could make the derivatives market vulnerable to a squeeze. ‘A Bitcoin rally to $69,500 could trigger an explosive liquidation cascade capable of vaporizing upwards of $4.7 billion in short contracts,’ Pepesso wrote, adding that ethereum shorts could face up to $2.4 billion of liquidations if ether rose past $1,875.

Derivatives desks and risk teams monitored key price thresholds during the 24-hour period. Traders using high leverage recorded the largest losses as prices swung.