Crypto Market Rebound Wipes Out Nearly $500 Million in Short Positions

The crypto market capitalization has moved higher over the past day, with broad gains across major coins reflecting improving investor sentiment. At the same time, the rebound has squeezed bearish positions, with over $468.5 million in short liquidations recorded during the 24-hour window. Crypto Liquidation Wave Hits Short Sellers According to BeInCrypto Markets data, total market capitalization has increased by 4.29%. The majority of the top 10 cryptocurrencies have posted gains over the past 24 hours. Dogecoin (DOGE) jumped 9.10%, marking the strongest performance among the 10 largest cryptocurrencies. Lido Staked Ether (STETH) followed, advancing 8.83%. Ethereum (ETH) ranked third among the top performers, jumping 8.75% and reclaiming the $2,000 level. Bitcoin (BTC) also posted notable gains, climbing 4.76% over the past day. The flagship cryptocurrency briefly touched $70,027 on Binance yesterday before retracing slightly to trade at $68,647 at press time. Crypto Market Recovery On February 26. Source: BeInCrypto Markets BeInCrypto reported that the rally benefited some long traders who recorded profits amid ETHs latest rise. However, traders betting on further downside saw losses. According to Coinglass, 128,348 traders were liquidated over the past 24 hours, with total liquidations reaching $575.59 million. Short traders bore the brunt of the losses, accounting for $468.53 million in liquidations, compared to $107.06 million in long positions. Crypto Market Liquidations. Source: Coinglass Bitcoin alone accounted for roughly 40% of total liquidations, with approximately $194.95 million in short positions liquidated. ETH recorded $203.8 million in total liquidations during the same period, with $175.16 million stemming from short positions. The largest single liquidation order occurred on Hyperliquid for the BTC-USD pair, valued at $10.41 million. Leveraged positions over the past 7 days have just turned positive.With todays short liquidations in BTC, what remains now are longs.The market works like this it moves toward where weak hands are most heavily exposed.Thats easy money for exchanges and the liquidity pic.twitter.com/UtZ7px3KVr Joao Wedson (@joao_wedson) February 25, 2026 Analysts Warn Crypto Relief Rally May Not Signal Full Trend Reversal The recent rally has sparked optimism, but analysts warn it may not mark a full trend reversal. According to XWIN Research Japan, Open Interest has fallen sharply from prior highs, signaling a broad deleveraging phase. The recent drop in price was accompanied by falling OI, suggesting that liquidations and derivatives-driven unwinds rather than aggressive spot selling played a major role in the decline. This type of reset can stabilize the market, but it does not automatically signal renewed structural demand, XWIN Research Japan wrote. At the same time, Binances Fund Flow Ratio remains low at around 0.012. Since this metric tracks BTC inflows relative to total exchange holdings, a low reading suggests limited immediate sell pressure. The analysis added that during the drop toward the mid-$60,000 range, the ratio did not spike. This suggested there was no panic-driven spot selling. However, XWIN Research Japan noted that weak inflows do not imply strong accumulation. The medium-term trend of the Fund Flow Ratios moving averages is trending downward. It indicates that structural demand has not yet shifted upward. When leverage remains suppressed, upward price moves can easily trigger short squeezes. In that case, the rally is driven more by position unwinding than by expanding structural demand, the post read. Analyst Darkfost also stressed that an increase in spot trading volume will be necessary for any bullish recovery or solid market bottom to develop. Read the article at BeInCrypto