Bitcoin Leads $309.9M Liquidation Ranking as Altcoins Surge
The derivatives tape is being defined by forced short exits: Bitcoin led the 24-hour liquidation ranking with $309.9M, including $300.9M from shorts, while total market liquidations reached $660.9M. That imbalance matters because the broader market still carries $124.8B in open interest, leaving plenty of leverage for another squeeze or reversal.
Liquidation leaders: shorts took the hit
Bitcoin’s $309.9M liquidation total was nearly double Ethereum’s $155.6M. BTC recorded 14,046 liquidation events, compared with 12,200 for ETH, showing that the move was broad as well as large. The short component dominated both assets: BTC shorts accounted for $300.9M, while ETH shorts contributed $142.7M.
SOL ranked next with $44.5M liquidated, of which $42.2M came from shorts across 5,084 events. ZEC followed at $33.1M, with $24.0M in short liquidations and $9.1M in longs. XRP posted $11.5M, split between $8.7M in shorts and $2.8M in longs, while NEAR reached $10.9M, again led by $8.0M in short liquidations.
The ranking becomes more asymmetric lower down the list. HYPE recorded $9.6M, with $9.0M in shorts, while UNI’s $6.8M total was almost evenly divided between $3.6M in shorts and $3.2M in longs. ARB was the exception among the notable names: its $5.8M total included $3.2M in longs versus $2.6M in shorts.
Gainers: momentum is concentrated
AKE was the clear futures gainer, rising 102.4% to $0.043393 on $1.2B in volume. Its appearance among the liquidation leaders, with $6.0M liquidated and $4.4M from shorts, suggests a sharp squeeze rather than a low-volatility advance. G’s 70.3% gain to $0.008188 also came with substantial activity: $987.9M in volume and $5.1M in liquidations.
MYX gained 58.0% to $0.09792, but its $345.1M volume was materially smaller than the leaders. ONE rose 56.7% to $0.002338 on $936.8M, while STRK advanced 44.4% to $0.04423 on $427.0M. Both also appeared in the liquidation table: ONE saw $3.5M liquidated and STRK $2.7M, reinforcing the pattern of upside momentum being fueled by trapped shorts.
Losers: isolated collapses, broader pressure
JINQIAN was the largest futures loser, falling 73.6% to $0.00087 on $1.8M in volume. APH dropped 47.6% to $82.82, while GPSOL lost 42.5% to $0.005895; their declines were severe but occurred on only $1.0M and $0.9M in volume respectively, making them less important to the system-wide risk picture.
Among higher-volume losers, COTI fell 15.8% on $106.6M, AVA declined 13.9% on $88.6M, and PONS dropped 9.5% despite $412.7M in volume. That contrast suggests the strongest market-wide signal remains the upside short squeeze in major derivatives, not a synchronized liquidation of long positions.
Verdict: The tactical bias remains squeeze-positive while BTC holds the $78,000 liquidation and options reference zone, with the index at $81,107.11 and Bitcoin options open interest at $35.1B. The $72,000 max-pain level for the Sep 25 expiry is the deeper downside magnet, while $85,000 is the next major call-heavy strike visible in the options structure. This view is invalidated if BTC closes below $78,000 while options open interest remains near $35.1B, signaling that leverage is not being cleared despite the selloff. Data as of 12:05 Beijing time on Sep 19, covering Binance, OKX, Bybit and other major venues.