The move forced nearly 90,000 traders out of their positions, with short liquidations accounting for the bulk of the damage.
Short positions made up $132.30 million of total liquidations, while long traders accounted for $115.81 million. The 12-hour window leading up to the final liquidation tally was particularly volatile, seeing $114.19 million in wiped positions, more than 45% of the day’s total. Data from CoinGlass showed the single largest liquidation was a $1.97 million BTCUSDT order on Bybit.
Exchange data shows that Binance led with $82.61 million in liquidations, 54.57% of which came from shorts. Bybit followed closely with $78.53 million, slightly tilted toward longs, suggesting aggressive positioning on both sides as traders tried to catch the breakout. OKX also saw a skew toward short-side losses, with 57.62% of its $35.02 million total coming from bearish bets.
The amount of liquidations seen between May 20 and May 21 indicates that the market is clearing speculative excess as Bitcoin consolidates below all-time highs. If the price sustains above $106,000 and derivatives positioning cools, further upside could follow.
For now, the data points to a forced reshuffling of risk, especially among short-sellers caught offside by the latest rally.
