Bitcoin climbs to $108k as $248 million in liquidations flush traders from market

Bitcoin’s rally triggered over $248 million in liquidations across the derivatives market in the past 24 hours. This spike came as Bitcoin climbed from an intraday low of $102,135 to a peak of $108,010, closing the day at $106,769 with a 2.83% gain.

The move forced nearly 90,000 traders out of their positions, with short liquidations accounting for the bulk of the damage.

Short positions made up $132.30 million of total liquidations, while long traders accounted for $115.81 million. The 12-hour window leading up to the final liquidation tally was particularly volatile, seeing $114.19 million in wiped positions, more than 45% of the day’s total. Data from CoinGlass showed the single largest liquidation was a $1.97 million btcusdT order on Bybit.

Screengrab showing Bitcoin liquidations on May 21, 2025 (Source: CoinGlass)

Exchange data shows that Binance led with $82.61 million in liquidations, 54.57% of which came from shorts. Bybit followed closely with $78.53 million, slightly tilted toward longs, suggesting aggressive positioning on both sides as traders tried to catch the breakout. OKX also saw a skew toward short-side losses, with 57.62% of its $35.02 million total coming from bearish bets.

Table showing Bitcoin liquidations across exchanges on May 21, 2025 (Source: CoinGlass)

The liquidation profile suggests the recent price spike punished overleveraged short sellers attempting to front-run a local top. Bitcoin’s failure to break all-time highs in prior attempts seems to have fueled short confidence, which ultimately backfired as BTC regained strength from the $102K range.

The amount of liquidations seen between May 20 and May 21 indicates that the market is clearing speculative excess as Bitcoin consolidates below all-time highs. If the price sustains above $106,000 and derivatives positioning cools, further upside could follow.

For now, the data points to a forced reshuffling of risk, especially among short-sellers caught offside by the latest rally.

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