A bloodbath for BitMEX XBT-USD shorts has seen about $19.4 million in liquidations over the past 24 hours, with the Bitcoin (BTC) price moving above $9,000.
Data from CryptoMeter.io shows $19.4 million worth of Bitcoin shorts wrecked vs. $4.49 million for traders with long positions [CryptoMeter.io].
Bitcoin’s 3% gain over the last 24 hours appears to have caught BitMEX short traders unaware, with the top-ranked cryptocurrency by market capitalization attempting another go at the $10,000 price mark. Such was the rapidity of the shorts closeout that $15 million was liquidated almost instantly, as reported by crypto market analytics platform Coinalyze.
The most recent mass liquidations have been due to sudden Bitcoin price declines. A drop to $8,600 earlier in May saw more than $1.3 billion in forced liquidations across the cryptocurrency futures market.
As earlier reported by BeInCrypto, Bitcoin was within sight of breaking out of its descending pattern that began in mid-May. The Bitcoin price is currently up more than 27% year-to-date.