Crypto Short Liquidations Exceed $3 Billion Amidst Bitcoin Price Rally

Bitcoin and altcoin short positions experienced liquidations exceeding $3 billion over a two-day period. This event coincided with Bitcoin's price approaching $72,000.

Data from CoinGlass indicated that crypto short liquidations reached $3.1 billion between August 19 and 20. Thursday alone saw the largest single-day liquidation of short positions on record. Bitcoin accounted for over half of these liquidations, totaling $1.65 billion.

Bitcoin‘s price surge followed a liquidity intervention by the US Treasury, with the cryptocurrency reaching local highs of $71,992 on Bitstamp. While significant, this liquidation event did not surpass the $20 billion long liquidation cascade that occurred in October 2025 after Bitcoin's previous all-time high of $126,200. According to CoinMarketCap, Thursday's total liquidations, including both long and short positions, amounted to $3.25 billion, placing it seventh historically in US dollar terms.

Bitcoin investors capitalized on previously unprofitable positions. Short-term holders, defined as wallets holding a UTXO for under 155 days, transferred a record 43,300 BTC in profit to exchanges, marking their largest profit-taking action of 2026.

The spent output profit ratio (SOPR) for this cohort reached 1.01 on Thursday, its highest point since April. This metric indicates that most coins moved from short-term holder wallets were transacted at a higher price than their previous acquisition. The aggregate cost basis for short-term holders had previously been reported at $68,700, and analysts had noted that any price increase might prompt these investors to exit positions that were formerly underwater.