Bitcoin, Ethereum Surge, Cryptocurrency Short Liquidation Amount Nears $900 Million

As Bitcoin and Ethereum surge, approximately $1.2 billion in derivative positions were liquidated, representing the largest deleveraging phenomenon in recent months. According to The Block on the 9th (local time), as Bitcoin exceeded $103,000 and Ethereum surged over 20%, about $1.2 billion (approximately 1.6 trillion won) in positions were liquidated within 24 hours. According to data provider CoinGlass, $871 million of the total liquidations occurred in short positions, with over 257,000 traders suffering losses. Particularly, Ethereum short positions were liquidated for more than $437 million, taking the biggest hit. One trader reportedly lost $4.8 million within 8 hours after taking an ETH short position with 25x leverage on the DeFi exchange Hyperliquid. According to on-chain analyst Lookonchain, the account deposited a total of $5 million but currently has remaining assets of around $310,000. Bitcoin short positions were also liquidated for approximately $363 million, with the largest single liquidation trade being a $12 million BTC position on Binance. Analysts suggested this surge was driven by actual demand rather than a simple leverage-based rise. A Bitfinex analyst noted that "open interest and funding rates were not overheated, and long-term investors' on-chain accumulation resumed," evaluating that genuine demand drove the increase. For Ethereum, the recent 'Pectra' upgrade accelerated smart money wallets' ETH accumulation. Nansen revealed that multiple high-value wallets purchased ETH in the past 48 hours, and London-based asset management firm Abraxas Capital reportedly withdrew ETH worth $116 million over two days. This market strength is also linked to changes in U.S. digital asset policies. The OCC reaffirmed this week that banks can be permitted to buy and sell cryptocurrencies on behalf of customers, while resumed trade negotiations between the U.S. and China and announcements of trade agreements with the UK also stimulated investment sentiment. The total cryptocurrency market capitalization surpassed $3.4 trillion, reaching a two-month high, and the GMCI 30 index rose over 9%, with major altcoins following BTC and ETH's trend.