Short positions across cryptocurrency markets were liquidated at a record $3.1 billion over Aug. 19-20, driven by a sharp rally in Bitcoin that pushed the token to its highest level since early June.
Data from CoinGlass shows that Bitcoin accounted for $1.65 billion of the total short liquidations, marking the largest single-day wipeout of short positions on record. The liquidations occurred as Bitcoin surged toward $72,000, reaching a local high of $71,992 on Bitstamp, according to TradingView. The move followed a liquidity intervention by the U.S. Treasury, which analysts linked to the price spike.
The two-day total of $3.1 billion in short liquidations ranks as the seventh-largest single-day liquidation event in dollar terms when including both long and short positions, CoinMarketCap data indicates. The largest such event remains the $20 billion long liquidation cascade that followed Bitcoin’s reversal from its all-time high of $126,200 in October 2025.
Bitcoin’s rally also prompted profit-taking among short-term holders, who moved 43,300 BTC to exchanges in their largest profit-taking event of 2026, according to CryptoQuant. The spent output profit ratio (SOPR) for the short-term holder cohort rose to 1.01, its highest level since April, signaling that most coins moved at a profit compared to their previous transaction.
The short-term holder realized price, or aggregate cost basis, stood at $68,700 as of Thursday, a level that had previously raised concerns that further upside could trigger additional profit-taking. The latest price action suggests those concerns have materialized, with investors capitalizing on positions that were previously underwater.
