Ethereum Hits Record, $350 Million in Shorts Liquidated

Ethereum surged past its November 2021 peak of $4,878 on 22 August, setting a new all-time high and triggering the heaviest forced covering of short positions in the token’s history. Data from derivatives-tracking platform CoinGlass show roughly $350 million of ETH shorts were liquidated during the session, part of a wider $550 million wipe-out across crypto futures markets in the previous 24 hours.

The squeeze followed days of mounting bearish bets. By 18 August speculators were holding the largest leveraged short position ever recorded in Ethereum, even as broader market volatility had already flushed more than $100 million in long positions when Bitcoin briefly fell below $116,000 and ETH slipped under $4,300.

Momentum shifted after macro signals—including comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell hinting at eventual rate cuts—and continued inflows into exchange-traded funds tracking the asset. As prices rebounded, traders with outsized short exposure were forced to buy back contracts, propelling ETH higher and erasing nearly half a billion dollars of bearish wagers in hours.

While Bitcoin also faced turbulence, including a $9.7 million single-trade liquidation on Binance on 20 August, the week’s derivatives carnage was concentrated in Ethereum. Analysts say the scale of the short wipe-out underscores how quickly leverage can amplify moves in digital-asset markets, particularly when positioning becomes one-sided.

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