Betting against crypto turned expensive this weekend. Traders saw $113 million in short positions forcibly closed over a 24-hour window ending October 5, 2026, according to data compiled by Coinglass.
That figure made up the lion’s share of approximately $138 million in total liquidations. Long positions, the bets on rising prices, accounted for only $25.16 million of the wipeouts. Shorts were liquidated at more than four times the rate of longs.
The damage report
A liquidation happens when a leveraged trader’s collateral can no longer cover their losses. The exchange then closes the position automatically.
Bitcoin led the carnage. Short positions on the largest crypto asset accounted for $57.07 million of the liquidations, roughly half of all shorts closed during the period.
Ethereum came in second, with $24.04 million in short positions erased.
The single largest casualty was a $5.63 million ETHUSDT short on Binance.
In total, 42,225 traders were liquidated across the venues Coinglass tracks.
Binance frequently leads in liquidation volumes, according to the Coinglass data, and the largest single wipeout landing there fits that pattern.
A familiar pattern
If $113 million in short liquidations sounds familiar, that is because it has happened before. In July 2026, a similar wave also produced $113 million in short liquidations.
That earlier episode was tied to a 4.5% rise in Ethereum toward $1,980, a move that came amid inflows into Ethereum ETFs.
When shorts get liquidated, the exchange has to buy back the asset to close their positions. That buying can push prices higher, which triggers more liquidations, which creates more buying.
What it means for traders
The lopsided split between shorts and longs tells a story about positioning. A meaningful number of traders expected prices to fall, and the market moved against them quickly enough to force them out.
The July episode and this one produced the same $113 million figure in short liquidations, both tied to upward price moves catching bears off guard.
When liquidations cluster on a few large venues like Binance, those platforms’ risk engines and liquidation mechanics become critical to how violently a move plays out.
Heavy short liquidations suggest bearish positioning got stretched. Heavy long liquidations would suggest the opposite.
What to watch from here is whether funding rates and open interest rebuild on the short side, setting up the conditions for another squeeze, or whether this weekend’s flush resets positioning toward something more balanced.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Vivian Nguyen. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
