Long and short positions explode by $149 million: Why is the 24-hour contract market so turbulent?

In the past 24 hours, the cryptocurrency futures market has staged a “long and short battle.” According to the latest news, the total amount of liquidations across the entire network has reached $149 million, with short positions liquidated at $84.08 million and long positions at $64.71 million. Behind this phenomenon of simultaneous long and short liquidations, it reflects a sharp divergence in market expectations and significant disagreements among traders about the future direction.

Liquidation Scale and Distribution

Overall liquidation situation

Mainstream cryptocurrencies under pressure

BTC and ETH, as market indicators, also faced significant liquidation pressure:

• Total BTC liquidations: $40.18 million
• Total ETH liquidations: $20.26 million
• Together, they account for 40.6% of the total liquidations across the network

This indicates that most liquidation pressure is concentrated on the two largest market cap coins, with market volatility mainly driven by price fluctuations of BTC and ETH.

Market signals behind the long and short liquidations

Why do both long and short positions get liquidated

Simultaneous long and short liquidations usually occur during rapid and intense price swings. This situation indicates:

• Traders have serious disagreements about the future market direction, with some bullish and others bearish
• The market lacks a clear consensus on direction, causing both sides to be under pressure
• A key price level may have been broken, triggering chain reactions of liquidations

What does more short liquidations mean

From the data, short liquidations ($84.08 million) exceed long liquidations ($64.71 million) by about 30%. This may suggest:

• The market experienced a rapid upward breakout at some point, forcing shorts to close positions
• Stop-loss levels for shorts are relatively concentrated, creating a chain reaction
• However, longs are also under pressure, indicating that a downward correction may follow

True reflection of market volatility

The $149 million liquidation scale over 24 hours reflects the high volatility characteristic of the current cryptocurrency market. Such a liquidation scale is not normal, indicating that the market is indeed experiencing some significant price movements or expectation adjustments.

From personal observation, this phenomenon of simultaneous long and short liquidations usually occurs in two scenarios: one is when the market faces major positive or negative news, and the other is when key support or resistance levels are broken on technical charts. In either case, it shows that market participants’ emotions are highly volatile.

Summary

The $149 million liquidation over the past 24 hours and the phenomenon of simultaneous long and short liquidations reflect the high uncertainty in the current cryptocurrency market. BTC and ETH, as the main pressure points, directly influence the entire market through their price fluctuations. Such intense volatility presents both risks and opportunities for traders, but more importantly, it reminds market participants that in such a highly volatile environment, risk management and position control are especially crucial. Moving forward, attention should be paid to whether the market can find a new balance point and whether traders’ expectations can reach consensus.