Crypto bears get squeezed as $113 million in shorts liquidated in 24 hours

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.

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.

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.