Bitcoin’s pullback from $111K wiped out $560M in crypto liquidation wave

Bitcoin’s latest pullback from its ATH at $111K has led to a wave of liquidations, wiping out $560M in long and short positions.

Bitcoin’s (BTC) latest pullback has contributed to a wave of liquidations of futures positions. On Friday, May 23, liquidations on crypto exchanges affected 160,905 traders, with a total value of erased positions amounting to $563.20 million .

Out of these liquidations, $418.63 million accounted for long positions, while $144.35 million accounted for short positions. According to Coinglass, the largest single liquidation order was a BTC-USDT bet on OKX, valued at $9.53 million.

Bitcoin traders lost the most, with $153.04 million in total liquidations, while Ethereum followed in close second, with $144.19 million. In both cases, longs made up a majority of the liquidated positions, likely due to heightened volatility.

Bitcoin, Ethereum slip on Trump trade war

Over the last 24 hours, Bitcoin fell from its all-time high of $111,970 to the $107,000 range, before rebounding back to $109,231. At the same time, Ethereum went from a daily high of $2,731 down to a low of $2,508, before rebounding back to $2,574.

Both major crypto assets fell shortly after the U.S. President Donald Trump threatened new punitive tariffs on the EU and Apple. Escalating trade tensions impact risk assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum more than many other assets. This is because traders are less likely to make risky bets in a potential low-growth environment.

Still, Bitcoin proved to be relatively resilient throughout the trade war. The asset surpassed its previous high in November, which coincided with Trump’s inauguration. Ethereum was less resilient, trading far below the $4000 level it broke in November.

Bitcoin’s resilience is likely due to its “digital gold” narrative. Traders, including institutional investors, are starting to look at Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation and a counter-cyclical asset, which typically do well in volatile market conditions.