Bitcoin pump to $63,700 triggers the most short liquidations since late April

Traders betting against bitcoin lost $504 million over 24 hours as it bounced from below $60,000, though a fresh Iran-Israel flare-up pulled prices back on Monday.

What to know:

• Bitcoin’s sharp rebound from last week’s lows triggered about $504 million in losses for short sellers over 24 hours, the largest daily hit since late April.
• Total crypto liquidations reached roughly $655 million and affected more than 104,000 traders, with bitcoin and ether positions accounting for the bulk of forced closures.
• After briefly climbing near $63,800 over the weekend and touching $63,700 Monday, bitcoin eased to around $62,900 amid renewed Middle East tensions and ahead of key U.S. inflation data and major IPOs.

Bitcoin's recovery from last week's lows has crushed the traders who bet against it.

Short sellers, who profit when prices fall, lost $504 million over the 24 hours to Monday morning, the most in a single day since late April, according to CoinGlass. Bets on rising prices lost just $151 million by comparison.

Total liquidations across crypto reached about $655 million and hit more than 104,000 traders. Bitcoin positions accounted for $315 million and ether for $201 million. The single biggest forced closure was a $12.3 million bitcoin futures position on the exchange OKX.

A liquidation is when an exchange automatically closes a leveraged bet that has moved too far against the trader.

The squeeze caps a volatile stretch for the world's largest cryptocurrency. Bitcoin fell nearly 14% last week and briefly traded below $60,000, dragged down by Strategy's first bitcoin sale since 2022, the unwind in artificial-intelligence stocks and a record run of outflows from spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds.

Many traders piled into shorts near the lows, then got caught when bitcoin rebounded to a high near $63,800 on Sunday, according to CoinDesk data.

The bounce lost some steam on Monday. Renewed strikes between Iran and Israel sent oil up more than 3% and Asian stocks sharply lower, with South Korea's KOSPI falling almost 7%. President Donald Trump urged Israel not to retaliate further. Bitcoin slipped back to around $62,900, still well above last week's floor.

Bitcoin reached as high as $63,700 on Monday morning before retreating, according to CoinDesk data, with volatility likely to stay high ahead of U.S. inflation figures and a wave of major IPOs including SpaceX.

More For You

BTC has pulled back from overnight highs as escalating geopolitical tensions weigh over risk sentiment and send oil price higher.

What to know:

• Bitcoin slipped to about $62,900 after renewed military conflict between Iran and Israel rattled global markets and sent Asian stocks sharply lower.
• Oil prices jumped more than 3% and Asian equity indexes tumbled, even as President Trump urged Israel not to retaliate further against Iran.
• Rising oil and Treasury yields,...

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