Ethereum (ETH) is setting liquidation records this week as a comparatively modest price uptick reveals how bearish the market has become.
Data from on-chain analytics platform CryptoQuant confirmed that U.S. dollar-denominated short liquidations hit a new all-time high on Oct. 25.
Two days, half a billion dollars of ETH shorts
It is not just Bitcoin (BTC) causing bears severe pain this week — data from exchanges also shows that Ethereum shorters have suffered heavy losses.
ETH/USD delivered fairly impressive gains on Oct. 25-26, rising from lows of $1,337 to highs of $1,593 on Bitstamp before retracing, according to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView.
ETH/USD 1-day candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView
While nothing unusual for crypto and for altcoins in particular, the market changes triggered by the price action stood out.
As with Bitcoin, the market had become heavily short ETH, expecting a trip to new macro lows after weeks of sideways action and failed breakouts.
It thus only took around $250 of upside to liquidate more short positions (in USD terms) than ever before — $275 million on Oct. 25, with another $250 million the day after.
USD-denominated ETH short liquidations chart. Source: CryptoQuant
Over half a billion dollars’ worth of positions wiped out in two days and not even a record in ETH — the value of the positions totaled 189,638 ETH and 161,986 ETH, respectively.
ETH-denominated ETH short liquidations chart. Source: CryptoQuant
“$ETH short squeezes for the last two consecutive days. Daily short liquidations across all exchanges reached an all-time high,” CryptoQuant CEO, Ki Young Ju, commented on the data.
BTC flushes out speculators
As Cointelegraph reported, the picture on Bitcoin was broadly similar as price performance solidified.
According to the latest figures from on-chain analytics resource Coinglass, Oct. 25 and 26 saw $328 million and $332 million of short liquidations, respectively, across exchanges.
BTC liquidations chart. Source: Coinglass
The tally for Oct. 27 was already much lower at $5.7 million, this firmly in line with established norms as Bitcoin consolidated above $20,000.
Nonetheless, exchange users were betting on the rally continuing, as evidenced by the largest-ever daily BTC balance decrease on major exchange Binance.
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