Over $158M Longs Liquidated as Bitcoin Briefly Dropped Below $60k

Bitcoin’s recent drop below $60,000 sparked a long liquidation fury in the crypto market, burning out $45 million in long positions in the past four hours. The unprecedented market capitulation has wiped out $158 million in bullish positions and $22 million in shorts in the past 24 hours, according to data from Coinglass.

Bitcoin dropped sharply to $59,881 on Wednesday, continuing its recent sideways trend. The largest crypto asset is down 4% in the past 24 hours, with its market cap dropping to $1.18 trillion. 

July’s bullish start saw Bitcoin pump to $63,000. However, selling pressure from the German government and a hawkish statement on inflation by Fed’s Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday have seen the asset struggle to hold above $60,000.

Bloodbath for Long Bitcoin and Ethereum Traders

Long liquidations for Bitcoin and Ethereum traders were almost inseparable. $45 million in Bitcoin longs were liquidated in the past 24 hours, while Ethereum longs worth $41 million were wiped out in the same timeframe.

Ethereum fell over 5% in the past 24 hours, shedding over $18 billion from its market cap. The asset’s downturn led to the liquidation of open positions worth $46.2 million, with a minor $5.2 million of them being short positions.

Solana’s surge above $150 on Tuesday was shortlived, as the asset plunged over 6% to $141. About $8.5 million in bull trades were rekt, while $2.57 million in late shorts were liquidated. Memecoins also saw significant liquidations, with PEPE, WIF, and DOGE traders losing over $9 million combined.

Bulls Unwavered

Despite the sizable long liquidation figures, bulls have continued opening buy positions across exchanges. An analysis by AliChart shows that traders on Binance increased their Bitcoin long exposure, with 75.4% of all traders going long on the asset.

Bitcoin’s drop to $60,000 filled a Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) gap earlier today, prompting speculation of a rebound. Standard Chartered said on Tuesday it expects Bitcoin to hit a new all-time high in August.