Crypto short liquidations pass $3B mark as Bitcoin price nears $72K
Bitcoin and altcoins surged as crypto short liquidations topped $3.1 billion over Aug. 19–20, with Thursday marking the largest single-day wipeout of shorts on record. Bitcoin drove more than half of the liquidations, about $1.65 billion, after a price jump tied to a U.S. Treasury liquidity intervention pushed BTC to its highest level since early June, briefly reaching $71,992 on Bitstamp. Profit-taking also accelerated among short-term Bitcoin holders. Wallets holding BTC for less than 155 days sent a record 43,300 BTC to exchanges at a profit, and the short-term holder SOPR rose to 1.01, its highest since April. That suggests many recent buyers were able to exit near or above their cost basis, after previously sitting underwater around the $68,700 realized price level.
