Bitcoin (BTC), altcoins, and short positions are all breaking new records. In just two days they have liquidated over $3 billion in Bitcoin.
The following are key points.
- CoinGlass’ data shows that the total value of crypto shorts liquidated since Thursday is over $3.1 billion.
- Bitcoin’s upward reaction continues to an intervention in liquidity by the US Treasury, which is approaching $72,000.
- Bitcoin holders who hold bitcoins for a short time can now make money on positions that were previously in the red and shift 43,300 BTC.
Short-term crypto liquidations of $3.1 billion in two days
Data Source CoinGlass Shows ongoing crypto short liquidity at $3.1 Billion for August 19-20. The total for Thursday was the largest ever single-day liquidation of crypto shorts.
Screenshot of the history of crypto liquidations Source: CoinGlass
BTC/USD led Wednesday’s charge reacting to a liquidity intervention US Treasury, with the most significant price increase since June’s beginning. As of the writing of this article, the price of the USD/CAD pair has reached a local high of $71,992, according to TradingView data.
BTC/USD one-day chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView
CoinGlass indicates that Bitcoin represents just under half of all short-liquidations totaling $1.65 Billion.
If long positions are taken into account, the numbers don’t represent the biggest crypto-liquidation event. This is dwarfed in comparison to the $20 billion long liquidation cascade That followed Bitcoin’s reverse from the latest all-time highest of $126.200 in October, 2025.
The data is expressed in US Dollars CoinMarketCap The total amount of liquidations on Thursday is ranked seventh in history.
Bitcoin traders make money as cost-basis returns
Bitcoin investors have meanwhile capitalized on their positions which were held previously at a loss that was not realized.
Related: HYPE jumps 20% as Trump signals legal US path for Hyperliquid
Short-term holders — wallets holding a UTXO for less than 155 days — sent a record 43,300 BTC in profit to exchanges in their largest profit-taking move of 2026, per onchain analytics platform CryptoQuant.
Bitcoin STH Profit and Loss to Exchanges (screenshot). Source: CryptoQuant
The spent output profit (SOPR), a metric that measures the profitability of short-term holders (STH), reached its highest level since April on Thursday. This means that most coins from STH wallets have been sold for a greater price.
Source: CryptoQuant. Bitcoin STH and SOPR data. Source: CryptoQuant
Previously, Cointelegraph reported that the STH cohort’s aggregate cost basisSTH realized prices, which is also called, were $68,700. Analysis at the time warned investors that the desire to sell their underwater positions could stifle any upward price movement.
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Source: cointelegraph.com
