Markets
Nearly $300 Million in Short Cryptocurrency Positions Destroyed
The latest rally in the crypto market rattled leveraged positions on both sides of the aisle, but short traders took the biggest hit of the day.
Bitcoin (Bitcoin) rose more than 13% last week, surpassing $70,000 for the first time since before last month’s halving event. According to CoinMarketCap, the leading blockchain asset is less than 5% below its all-time high (ATH) set in March.
Ethereum (ETH), the second largest cryptocurrency, rose 30% during the week, reclaiming a $450 billion market and may soon test the $4,000 level.
BTC and ETH Rally | Source: CoinMarketCap
A market-wide recovery accompanied the price increases, with the total cryptocurrency market value jumping more than 7% in 24 hours to reach $2.7 trillion per CoinGecko. Trading volumes also doubled to $220.5 billion.
Digital asset market value and volume | Source: CoinGecko
This surge in the market brought volatility that shook investors who were betting on higher or lower prices. In financial markets, traders who anticipate price increases go long, while betting on price declines is called a short position.
Liquidation data from CoinGlass on May 21 showed that more than $380.5 million in leveraged positions were wiped out, with short trades committing more than $294.3 million and about $97.2 million representing long positions liquidated.
Short positions in Ether accounted for more than $104.9 million in liquidations, the largest of any crypto asset. Short positions in Bitcoin followed with US$83.1 million, and Solana (SUN) Short trades of $16.9 million ranked second and third, respectively.
Top Crypto Liquidations for May 21 | Source: CoinGlass