Crypto Short Sellers Lose $666 Million as XRP and NEAR Rally
The cryptocurrency derivatives market recently witnessed its largest wave of short-position liquidations in months, totaling $665.81 million, triggered by a sharp price surge. Over 117,000 traders faced nearly $790 million in losses, with altcoins like XRP, NEAR, and Zcash, alongside Bitcoin and Ethereum, experiencing significant impacts. This event, born from a short squeeze, has redefined critical short seller zones and suggests a shift in market momentum towards buyers.
A sharp rise across major cryptocurrencies has forced hundreds of millions of dollars in bearish bets out of the market, with XRP, NEAR and Zcash among the altcoins hit hardest.
CoinGlass data showed that about $665.81 million in short positions were liquidated over 24 hours, while total losses across both long and short positions reached $789.57 million. The liquidations affected 117,942 traders.
The move came as Bitcoin climbed above $85,000, while several large altcoins posted even larger percentage gains.
How the squeeze happened
A short position is a bet that an asset's price will fall. Traders often use borrowed money or derivatives to make those bets, which means a relatively small price increase can force an exchange to close the position.
That is what happened during this rally.
As prices moved higher, exchanges automatically bought back assets from traders whose positions could no longer meet margin requirements. Those forced purchases added more buying pressure to a market that was already moving up.
Bitcoin accounted for the largest share of the short liquidations, with about $384.71 million wiped out as the cryptocurrency gained 5.73%.
Ethereum followed with $157.97 million in short liquidations after rising 5.80%.
XRP and NEAR took a hit too
The move was particularly noticeable across some major altcoins.
NEAR jumped 11.51% to $4.06, triggering about $8.88 million in short liquidations. XRP rose 7.99% to $1.47, with $10.04 million in short positions liquidated.
Zcash added another $11.51 million in short liquidations after gaining 6.24%, while Solana's 8.15% rise triggered about $20.21 million in forced short closures.
The figures show how quickly leverage can turn an ordinary price move into a much larger market event.
Why Nigerian traders should care
Nigeria is already one of the world's largest cryptocurrency markets. Chainalysis ranked the country sixth globally for crypto adoption in 2025, while the IMF says Nigeria received about $59 billion in crypto-asset value between July 2023 and June 2024 and has seen particularly strong growth in stablecoin use.
That does not mean Nigerian traders were responsible for the latest liquidation wave. It does mean events in global crypto derivatives markets can matter locally, especially for Nigerians trading assets such as Bitcoin and XRP through international platforms.
For traders using leverage, the episode is a reminder that being right about the broader direction of a market is not enough. A sharp move in the opposite direction can close a position before the trader has time to wait for the market to turn.
The rally still needs context
The latest figures show a strong rebound, but forced liquidations can amplify a price move in either direction. They do not by themselves establish that a new long-term market trend has begun.
Bitcoin's rise above $85,000 was its highest level since January, according to The Block, while the broader crypto market was also responding to wider financial conditions, including expectations around interest rates and renewed risk appetite.
For now, the important part of the move is the amount of leverage that was caught on the wrong side.
Nearly $800 million in total positions were liquidated in one day, showing just how quickly a crypto rally can become expensive for traders betting against it.