BTC/USD $68,420 +2.8%
ETH/USD $3,540 +1.4%
SOL/USD $142.80 -0.6%
BNB/USD $605.20 +0.9%
XRP/USD $0.62 -1.2%
DOGE/USD $0.18 +5.4%
BTC/USD $68,420 +2.8%
ETH/USD $3,540 +1.4%
SOL/USD $142.80 -0.6%
BNB/USD $605.20 +0.9%
XRP/USD $0.62 -1.2%
DOGE/USD $0.18 +5.4%
Altcoins

HOT MOMENTS: Bitcoin Has Taken Off—We’ve Broken Above $69,000 – Massive Liquidations Are Happening—Here’s the Latest Update

Bitcoin (BTC) experienced a sharp surge today, briefly reaching $69,500. This sudden movement in the cryptocurrency market caught investors, particularly those holding short positions, off gu

AnonymousCryptoCompass newsroom
August 19, 2026
2 min read
NEWS
HOT MOMENTS: Bitcoin Has Taken Off—We’ve Broken Above $69,000 – Massive Liquidations Are Happening—Here’s the Latest Update
CryptoCompass editorial visual for altcoins coverage.

Bitcoin (BTC) experienced a sharp surge today, briefly reaching $69,500. This sudden movement in the cryptocurrency market caught investors, particularly those holding short positions, off guard, with $1.21 billion in leveraged positions liquidated in just the last hour.

According to liquidation data, short positions accounted for $1.13 billion of the liquidations in the last hour, while long positions accounted for $78.62 million. Thus, approximately 93% of the liquidations came from investors expecting a price drop in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

According to TradingView data, the BTC/USDT pair on Binance, which was trading in the approximately $64,000-$65,000 range before the surge, experienced a rapid upward movement. After approaching $69,500, Bitcoin pulled back slightly and was trading around $68,500 at the time of writing. Currently, Bitcoin’s price has gained over 5% in the last 24 hours.

A chart showing the increase in BTC price.

Altcoins followed Bitcoin’s rise. Ethereum (ETH) surpassed the $2,000 level, climbing above this price for the first time since June 2nd. Solana (SOL) also regained the $80 level.

Liquidation data shows that the rally has turned into a widespread short squeeze that is not limited to the last hour. In the last hour, $1.21 billion was liquidated, with $1.13 billion of that being short positions and $78.62 million being long positions. In the last four hours, total liquidations reached $1.36 billion, with $1.25 billion in short positions and $112.37 million in long positions closed.

In the last 12 hours, of the $1.41 billion in liquidations, $1.28 billion came from short positions and $131.10 million from long positions. Looking at the last 24 hours, the total liquidations reached $1.46 billion, with $1.30 billion from short positions and $164.72 million from long positions.

*This is not investment advice.

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