The recent crypto rally has left a trail of forced exits in its wake: nearly $630 million in derivatives positions were liquidated over the past 24 hours, according to CoinGlass, as traders were squeezed by sharp price moves that followed a reported ceasefire between Iran and the United States.
What happened
Liquidations—forced closures of leveraged positions that have accumulated losses beyond margin thresholds—hit the derivatives market hard. CoinGlass data shows roughly $627 million wiped out in the last day, with bearish (short) positions bearing the brunt: more than $473 million of the total were short liquidations as prices moved higher.
Which assets were hit
Bitcoin accounted for the largest share of the squeeze, with about $276 million in liquidated positions. Ethereum was the second-most affected, at nearly $121 million. Among altcoins, Solana saw the biggest impact, with roughly $19 million in derivatives liquidations.
Speculative flows and Open Interest
Despite the large flush of liquidations, the market’s speculative activity appears to have picked up the slack. CryptoQuant community analyst Maartunn noted on X that Ethereum’s Open Interest—the total number of open derivatives contracts across centralized exchanges—jumped more than 14% as ETH pushed back above $2,200. While rising Open Interest can signal fresh conviction behind a breakout, it can also magnify risk: past rallies fueled by surging OI have proven unstable when a wave of liquidations reverses the move.
Price action snapshot
Bitcoin briefly spiked to about $72,800 during the rally before easing back to roughly $71,600, underscoring the volatility that produced the liquidations.
Bottom line
The latest episode is a reminder that leverage can accelerate both gains and losses. The ceasefire-driven rally forced concentrated losses among short traders, but higher Open Interest shows speculative bets have returned—raising the possibility of either continued momentum or a sharp unwind if volatility flips.
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