Bitcoin liquidates over $600M in leveraged longs in one hour

More than $600 million of leveraged Bitcoin positions were forced closed in a four‑hour window as the price slipped 5.2 % from a $59,920 high, according to Bybt data [4]. The biggest single liquidation hit the Seychelles‑based Huobi exchange at $14.68 million [4].

The surge came after Bitcoin rallied nearly 19 % over six days, only to reverse sharply amid a volatile quarterly close. Traders who had bet on further upside saw their collateral evaporate when the market turned, a pattern described by analyst Willy Woo as “walking into a forest and noticing the birds just stopped tweeting” [4].

CoinDesk reported that the broader crypto market saw $1.84 billion liquidated across all assets in the preceding 24 hours, with Bitcoin longs absorbing $883.66 million of that damage [2]. Binance, Hyperliquid and Bybit together handled roughly 41 % of the total cascade, underscoring the concentration of liquidations on major exchanges [2]. Despite the wipeout, open interest in Bitcoin futures actually rose, suggesting new short bets are piling in even as prices fall [2].

The confluence of a sharp price drop, thin liquidity and rising short exposure points to a market still searching for a clearing level. Retail traders on Binance remain net long, while whale accounts on OKX have flipped to a bearish stance, hinting at divergent expectations among participants [2]. With Bitcoin hovering near the $65,000 threshold, a breach could open a path toward $60,000, but the current positioning data makes a sustained bounce less likely [2].

The episode highlights how quickly leveraged exposure can evaporate in a volatile crypto environment, raising the question of whether the market will find a bottom or continue to spiral lower as short pressure builds.