Crypto Futures Short Squeeze Forces $235M Liquidations in 24 Hours
A concentrated short squeeze across major exchanges (Binance, Bybit, OKX) triggered roughly $235 million in crypto futures liquidations within 24 hours on March 15, 2025. Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) were the primary victims: BTC saw about $96.03 million liquidated with ~84% from shorts, while ETH accounted for about $131 million with ~77.5% shorts—signaling a short-dominated deleveraging. Perpetual futures and elevated leverage (commonly 5x–100x) amplified losses as exchange engines auto-closed positions when maintenance margins were breached. The episode matches the pattern of short-focused cascades: forced buybacks push prices higher, triggering further short liquidations and short-term momentum continuation. Smaller tokens previously reported in earlier coverage (e.g., RIVER) also experienced concentrated liquidations, but the later report consolidates figures and widens focus to BTC/ETH dominance. Analysts note the event is large but modest versus historical spikes (e.g., May 2021) and may represent a leverage reset that reduces speculative overhang while increasing near-term volatility. For traders: expect elevated short-term volatility and possible bullish momentum from short-covering; reduce leverage, keep margin buffers, monitor funding rates and clustered positions near technical levels, and watch order-book liquidity and follow-through volume to confirm a sustained trend. Primary SEO keywords: crypto futures, short squeeze, BTC, ETH, liquidations.
Bullish
The liquidation event is short-dominated for BTC and ETH, meaning forced buybacks from liquidated short positions create upward price pressure in the near term. Both summaries emphasize that a large share of liquidations were shorts (BTC ~84%, ETH ~77.5%), which typically produces a short-covering rally that can extend momentum until sellers re-enter or liquidity dries up. The event is described as a leverage reset: it removes some speculative short interest and reduces immediate overhang, which supports price structure. However, analysts caution the episode is modest versus historical extremes and may only produce temporary upside; elevated volatility and potential liquidity gaps can cause rapid reversals if follow-through buying fails. For traders this implies a likely short-term bullish bias for BTC and ETH driven by cover-induced demand, accompanied by heightened volatility; longer-term direction depends on subsequent volume, funding rates, macro drivers, and whether leverage stays elevated.