Ethereum Wipeout Leads $545M Liquidation as Shorts Face Heavy Losses

• Ethereum leads $236M in liquidations, triggering broad market wipeout.
• Short traders hit hardest, with BitMEX showing nearly 99% short-side liquidations.
• Binance tops liquidation value, clearing $155M amid leveraged position failures.

Over 144,000 traders saw their leveraged positions wiped out over the past 24 hours, with liquidations totaling $545.95 million across major crypto exchanges. Data released by Phoenix Group on July 17 shows Ethereum (ETH) at the center of the event, leading all assets with $236.57 million in forced liquidations. The figures highlight the rapid shift in market sentiment that triggered one of the largest liquidations in recent weeks.

Ethereum accounted for nearly half of all liquidation losses, strengthening its role as the primary target of overleveraged trades during the sudden price swing. Bitcoin followed with $69.56 million in liquidated positions. XRP came in third, losing $35.79 million. Together, these three assets represented more than $340 million in total liquidations during the observed period.

Altcoins also recorded large losses. Solana posted $24.08 million in liquidations, while Shiba Inu followed with $13.77 million. Other tokens affected include Notcoin ($5.07M), Game Pump ($4.96M), Floki Premium ($4.49M), and several meme tokens. Dogecoin saw $5.66 million in liquidations, with PEPE and WOJAK losing $4.39 million and $4.06 million, respectively.

Exchanges See Diverging Long and Short Liquidation Trends

BitMEX registered the highest proportion of short liquidations at 98.96%, indicating a high concentration of traders betting on price declines. Other platforms with strong short-side liquidations included Hyperliquid (72.19%), Gate (70.69%), and HTX (68.63%). Bybit and OKX also showed high short-liquidation ratios at 66.65% and 65.21% respectively.

Coinex, in contrast, was showing a reverse trend as the long position contributed 62.33% liquidation. This paradox implies that, despite the prevailing bearish mood on various exchanges, other traders were bullish and stretched on the long side. The biggest liquidation throughout was on the HTX, where one $3.21 million position of ETH/USDT was forced liquidated.

Binance Tops Total Liquidation Value

Binance was the highest in terms of liquidated amount, with 155.15 million of the total amount. The value appears high because of the platform’s market dominance and the number of leveraged positions users take.

The huge losses remind us of the risks of high-gearing trading in speculative markets. As the direction of prices changed, short-biased positions were particularly influenced, resulting in a broad pattern of liquidation. The trend shows that traders who engage in high leverage have been facing hurdles where risk management is inadequate.