Ethereum Short Sellers Lose $16M in 24-Hour Squeeze

Ethereum News

Ethereum short sellers absorbed the heaviest losses in crypto derivatives over the past 24 hours, as a broad rebound forced bearish bets to unwind across the majors. Market data show roughly $115.7 million in total liquidations, with short positions accounting for about 54 percent, or $62.7 million, against $52.9 million in long liquidations. Nearly 69,424 traders were liquidated over the day, and the single largest forced order was a $1.11 million ETHUSDT position on Binance. While Bitcoin stayed range-bound, Ethereum (ETH) and other altcoins led the squeeze, tilting derivatives sentiment back toward the upside and deepening the pain for anyone positioned short.

The rebound coincided with a technical breakout for Ethereum, which pushed through the $1,820 resistance zone that had capped prior advances. After clearing the level, ETH retested it as support and buyers held, printing around $1,867.98 in the session. Analysts highlight that sustained trade above $1,820 opens the door toward a $2,500 target, framing the move as a shift onto firmer technical footing. Ethereum, the largest smart-contract network hosting decentralized applications, still trades well below its all-time high, a gap bulls cite as room for extended upside if the reclaimed support continues to hold.

On-chain data added a bullish signal beneath the price action. Two freshly created wallets sold a combined 72 Bitcoin and rotated the proceeds into a 12,000 ETH leveraged long, according to blockchain tracking. A leveraged long, an amplified upside bet funded with borrowed capital, magnifies gains if price rises but also raises liquidation risk on any reversal. The size and timing of the shift suggested large holders were assigning meaningful weight to further ETH upside. Such concentrated positioning by well-capitalized wallets often precedes volatility, and it reinforced the tone set by the collapsing short interest visible across the derivatives market this session.

Breaking down the liquidation heatmap, Ethereum carried the largest share of forced closures at $28.88 million, ahead of Bitcoin at $20.93 million and a further $13.26 million spread across other tokens. Within ETH specifically, short liquidations reached $15.96 million against $12.92 million in long liquidations, confirming that traders betting on a decline bore the brunt. Solana followed a similar pattern, rising 0.59 percent while its short liquidations of $3.08 million outpaced $1.1 million in longs. The concentration of activity in ETH and BTC underscored that institutional and large-trader flow remains focused on the majors rather than the long tail of tokens.

Regulatory expectations also supported the improving mood. Market watchers pointed to the Clarity Act, a US digital-asset market-structure bill expected to advance next week, as a potential catalyst for confidence. Clearer rules on how tokens are classified would ease a persistent overhang for Ethereum, whose regulatory status has long shaped institutional appetite. Nothing is yet confirmed on the legislative timeline, but the prospect of a defined framework featured among the drivers analysts cited as underpinning demand. For a network central to automated market maker platforms and wider DeFi, regulatory clarity carries outsized weight for future capital inflows.

Zooming in on the intraday timeline, the deleveraging skewed against bears across most windows. Over the trailing 12 hours, short liquidations hit $44.75 million versus $38.86 million in longs, and the 24-hour tally showed shorts leading by roughly $10 million. Only the most recent hour flipped, with $5.1 million in long liquidations topping $1.46 million in shorts as brief volatility trimmed some upside bets. The pattern points to a market grinding higher while methodically clearing out downside wagers, a dynamic that pressures any lingering bear-market positioning. Rotation extended into thematic tokens such as BANK, PUMP and KAITO, signalling active short-term money flow.

COINOTAG's proprietary 42-indicator composite S/R scoring engine frames the setup with hard levels. Our engine rates the $1,872 support at 86/100, its strongest reading, driven by the confluence of the Fibonacci 0.382 retracement, a pivot point and a MACD cross, while overhead resistance at $1,966 scores 82/100 on a support-to-resistance flip, the EMA 100 and the upper Bollinger Band. With spot near $1,878 as of writing and RSI at 60 in a confirmed uptrend, derivatives read constructively: aggregate open interest sits at $7.54 billion, funding holds mildly positive at 0.0026 percent, and the 1.89 long/short ratio shows 65.4 percent of accounts long. Yet the Fear & Greed Index at 29 signals caution. A daily close below $1,872 would invalidate the bullish thesis and expose $1,732; holding it keeps $1,966 in play.