Crypto liquidations surge to highest level since October 2025 flash crash

On August 19, the cryptocurrency market experienced a remarkable turnaround as Bitcoin, Ethereum and other digital assets began to rally after the U.S. Treasury announced it would at least double its purchases of longer‑term government bonds.

The move aims to boost liquidity and ease pressure in the longer‑dated Treasury market, and in the short term it loosens financial conditions, making risk assets such as Bitcoin more attractive.

Following the prolonged bearish period after the October 10 2025 flash crash, traders had built up large short positions. When prices started to rise on August 19, those short‑sellers rushed to close their bets.

According to CoinGlass data, short positions totalling $2.73 billion were liquidated on that day, while long positions worth only $248.1 million faced liquidation. Overall, about $2.97 billion in crypto positions were wiped out.

This marks the highest level of liquidations seen since the October 10 2025 crash.

The October 10 flash crash was sparked by President Donald Trump’s sudden tariff threat against China.

Bitcoin had reached an all‑time high of $126,080 on October 6, just days before the crash, leaving traders heavily bullish and heavily long.

When the market began to fall on October 10, traders rushed to exit their positions. Liquidations hit $16.78 billion on the long side and $2.46 billion on the short side, for a total of $19.24 billion wiped out, according to CoinGlass.

Bitcoin climbs above $72,000 for the first time since June

On August 20, Bitcoin broke the $72,000 barrier for the first time since June 1, trading at $71,757.02 at press time — an 11.5 % gain over the previous 24 hours.

Ether was priced at $2,275.80, up 19 % in a day, while XRP rose to $1.21, also up 19 %.

The total cryptocurrency market capitalisation stood at $2.52 trillion at press time, reflecting a 10 % increase over the past 24 hours.

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