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Crypto derivatives forced liquidations

Updated 3 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

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2026-08-20 12:11 UTC → 2026-08-20 17:04 UTC · added ~~removed~~

The cryptocurrency derivatives market has experienced several massive waves of forced liquidations driven by extreme volatility. On 21 July, $2.16 billion in positions were liquidated within 24 hours; long positions accounted for roughly 64% ($1.38 billion), while a brief four-hour window saw a $39.12 million spike driven almost entirely by short sellers, primarily on Binance. Between 23 and 24 July, the trend shifted toward long-position unwinding. Liquidation volume rose from $181.7 million to $255.4 million, with long positions comprising 59% to 75% of the total. Ethereum led these outflows, including a $4.48 million Binance ETH/USDC trade, while a Hyperliquid XYZ:CL-USD position worth $7.86 million was also notable. A further spike occurred on 31 July, when approximately $289.7 million in positions were liquidated, 62% of which were long. Bitcoin and Ethereum accounted for roughly $246 million of this volume, and more than 94,000 participants were impacted. On 19 August, liquidations reached $2.74 billion in a 24-hour period. Unlike previous long-heavy unwinds, this event was characterized by massive short squeezes: Bitcoin led with $1.42 billion in liquidations (99% short), and Ethereum followed with $1.13 billion in liquidations following a 17% price surge. Solana also saw approximately $104 million in liquidations during this period. On 20 August, the market saw a further escalation, with approximately $2.98 billion in positions liquidated over 24 hours. This event, which impacted more than 173,000 traders, was driven overwhelmingly by short positions totaling roughly $2.74 billion. Major exchanges involved included Binance, OKX, and Gate.io, while Hyperliquid recorded a single BTC-USD liquidation of $48.80 million. This event is noted as the eighth-largest liquidation event in history. Following these surges, Bitcoin rose toward $72,500 and Ethereum climbed nearly 20 percent to $2,280. This upward momentum was attributed to the breaking of key resistance levels and U.S.

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