Ether Surge Wipes $24 Million From Veteran Crypto Short Seller

Bitcoin and Ether are the crypto market’s two largest assets, and their prices often drive moves in altcoins and derivatives positions. Exchanges forcibly close highly leveraged contracts when their margin becomes insufficient, and cascading liquidations can deepen a decline. Liquidation totals therefore offer a gauge of market risk and investor sentiment.

In the early hours of June 10, 2026, Taipei time, Bitcoin broke below the $63,000 support level and fell through $61,000, while Ether tested $1,600. CoinGlass data showed that more than 120,000 traders were liquidated over 24 hours, with total liquidations reaching $380 million and the largest single order on Binance totaling $8.05 million. By June 25, BTC had fallen below $60,000 again, with liquidations exceeding $650 million and nearly 140,000 traders affected.

Ether is the native asset of the Ethereum network, and its price volatility directly affects leveraged trading and onchain financial activity. A 20% workforce reduction at the Ethereum Foundation has deepened market concerns, although Ethereum still accounts for 53% of the DeFi market. The scale of its ecosystem remains an important pillar for a medium- to long-term recovery.

On the Tuesday covered by the report, Ether fell about 5% as the broader crypto market also declined, triggering roughly $170 million in liquidations of Ether long positions. The forced unwinding of large leveraged positions reflected weak investor confidence in the near-term outlook while amplifying price volatility and the risk of further declines.

Crypto futures allow traders to amplify positions with margin. When the market moves against them and their collateral becomes insufficient, exchanges forcibly close their positions, potentially intensifying the decline. Higher-than-expected U.S. inflation data and rising global government bond yields weighed on risk appetite. Although the U.S. Senate Banking Committee advanced the CLARITY Act on May 14, 2026, the move was not enough to offset macroeconomic pressure.

According to Coinglass, $563 million in leveraged long positions was liquidated in the 24 hours through May 18, 2026, the largest one-day total since February 6. Ether accounted for $244 million and Bitcoin for $160 million, while short liquidations totaled just $65 million. Ether was trading at about $2,129 at the time, down 10% for the week, while Bitcoin fell below $77,000 and was down nearly 5% over the same period.