$883M in Bitcoin longs wiped as crypto liquidations hit $1.84B in 24 hours

Bitcoin bulls just got a very expensive reminder that leverage cuts both ways. Roughly $1.84 billion in crypto positions were liquidated over a 24-hour period on June 3, making it the largest forced-selling event the market has seen since early February.

The carnage was overwhelmingly one-sided. Long positions, meaning traders betting on higher prices, accounted for $1.66 billion of the total wipeout. Short liquidations made up a comparatively modest $180 million.

Bitcoin took the biggest hit

Bitcoin longs alone absorbed $883 million in liquidations. That figure includes one particularly brutal single position worth $59.67 million in BTC-USDT on the HTX exchange.

Ethereum wasn’t spared either, with long liquidations totaling $476 million. Solana longs rounded out the top three at $91 million.

Across all exchanges, more than 224,500 traders were affected. Binance led with $748 million in liquidations — roughly 40% of the entire event happening on a single platform.

Bitcoin’s price dropped below the $66,000 level during the selloff, a threshold that had been holding as support. Once it cracked, the cascade of margin calls accelerated.

Geopolitics and ETF outflows poured fuel on the fire

Escalating tensions between the United States and Iran, specifically threats related to the Strait of Hormuz, sent oil prices surging. Brent crude hit $93.89 per barrel.

Bitcoin ETF products saw outflows totaling $3.5 billion over the ten trading days leading up to the liquidation event.

A fragmented market with diverging signals

While some retail-focused platforms continued to show bullish positioning going into the event, larger holders had already begun exhibiting bearish tendencies. That divergence is a classic setup for exactly the kind of liquidation cascade that just played out.

The $3.5 billion in ETF outflows over the preceding ten days suggests that at least some institutions are treating their crypto allocations more like tactical trades than strategic positions — tactical money leaves faster during stress events.

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