$73M in Crypto Liquidations Hit Markets in 24 Hours, Longs Absorb Most Losses

Crypto futures markets shed $73.1 million in liquidations over the past 24 hours, with long positions absorbing roughly 72% of the losses as leveraged bulls were caught on the wrong side of a broad market pullback.

$73.1 Million Flushed From Crypto Futures in 24 Hours

A total of $73.1331 million in crypto contract liquidations hit the derivatives market network-wide on March 29, 2026, per CoinAnk data reported by PANews. The flush spanned exchanges across the entire crypto futures ecosystem, not a single platform event.

Long positions accounted for $52.539 million of the total, representing 71.8% of all liquidations. Short positions made up the remaining $20.5941 million, or 28.2%.

Bitcoin led individual asset liquidations at $15.2367 million, followed by Ethereum at $14.2446 million. The concentration in the two largest assets by market cap reflects their outsized share of open interest across perpetual futures venues.

Separate data from CoinGlass showed broader 24-hour liquidations of $100.16 million, with 61,627 traders liquidated. The discrepancy with the CoinAnk figure likely reflects differences in exchange coverage between the two platforms, though both confirmed the same pattern: longs dominated the liquidation flow at approximately 71-72%.

Long Liquidations Signal Bulls Were Caught Offside

A long liquidation occurs when a leveraged long position falls below its margin maintenance threshold, forcing the exchange to close the trade automatically. The trader’s collateral is sold into the market, and the position is unwound at a loss.

When longs dominate a liquidation event at a ratio above 70%, it signals that a downward price move triggered the cascade. Traders who had bet on rising prices were forced out as markets declined, and the resulting forced selling can compound downward pressure on the order book.

Bitcoin traded at $66,274, down 0.83% over 24 hours. Ethereum fell 1.55% to $1,990.33. The declines were modest in isolation, but sufficient to trigger margin calls across overleveraged positions, particularly those using high leverage multiples on perpetual contracts.

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index sat at 9 out of 100, classified as “Extreme Fear.” That reading, deep in bearish territory, aligns with the long-heavy liquidation pattern: leveraged bulls continued to hold positions even as broader sentiment turned sharply negative.

This event follows a larger $258 million liquidation spike that occurred over just four hours on March 27. The back-to-back flushes suggest the market is in a sustained deleveraging phase rather than experiencing isolated shocks, raising questions about whether predictions of a crypto winter ending soon may be premature.

Key Metrics to Watch After the Flush

BTC and ETH perpetual futures consistently hold the largest share of open interest in the crypto derivatives market, which is why they absorbed the top two liquidation totals in this event. Traders monitoring the aftermath should watch open interest levels across major venues for signs of whether leverage is rebuilding or continuing to decline.

Post-liquidation periods typically see funding rates compress toward neutral as overleveraged positions are cleared. The current live long/short trader ratio on CoinGlass showed 48.93% long versus 51.07% short, a near-even split that contrasts sharply with the 72% long skew in actual liquidated positions. That gap indicates the market is rapidly rebalancing away from one-sided bull positioning.

Whether the deleveraging trend has run its course may depend on whether spot prices stabilize at current levels. With broader market uncertainty weighing on sentiment and the Fear & Greed Index in extreme territory, any further downside in spot markets could trigger additional cascading liquidations among remaining leveraged longs.

The key data points in the near term are funding rate normalization, open interest recovery or continued decline, and whether the long/short ratio shifts further toward short dominance. Recent enforcement actions, including a Singapore case involving $6.5 million in illegal crypto transfers, add to the cautious backdrop hanging over the market as it works through this deleveraging cycle.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency and digital asset markets carry significant risk. Always do your own research before making decisions.