Bitcoin (BTC) is wedged between two large clusters of leveraged positions that could amplify its next major move in either direction.
Coinglass data from Wednesday show $675 million in cumulative long liquidation pressure below $65,000 and $905 million in short liquidation pressure above $69,000 across major centralized exchanges.
The cryptocurrency was trading near $66,800 on Wednesday, down about 3% on the day and roughly 47% from its October all-time high above $126,000.
What The Data Shows
Liquidation maps do not predict exact dollar amounts of forced closures. Instead, they measure relative "strength" - the concentration of leveraged positions at specific price levels compared to surrounding levels.
A larger cluster suggests the price would react more intensely if it reaches that zone, as cascading forced closures amplify the move.
The current setup shows a slightly larger concentration of short positions above $69,000 than long positions below $65,000. That asymmetry means a rally could trigger more forced buying than a drop would trigger forced selling, at least at these specific thresholds.
Bitcoin's open interest across futures markets currently stands at approximately $44.9 billion, according to Coinglass. Total crypto derivatives open interest has fallen roughly 22% over the past month, dropping from $815 billion to about $638 billion, per Investing.com analysis.
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Why It Matters
The broader context adds weight to these levels. Bitcoin has dropped more than 21% year to date and briefly touched $60,062 last week - its lowest in approximately 16 months.
The Feb. 5 sell-off alone triggered $2.6 billion in total crypto liquidations within 24 hours, with long positions accounting for over $2.1 billion of that amount, according to Incrypted data sourced from Coinglass.
Since then, Bitcoin has been stuck between roughly $63,000 and $72,000. U.S. Bitcoin ETFs, which drove much of the 2024-2025 rally, have turned net sellers in 2026, according to CryptoQuant. Veteran trader Peter Brandt has described the recent decline as "campaign selling" - sustained institutional distribution rather than retail panic.
Whether Bitcoin tests $65,000 or $69,000 first will likely determine the next wave of forced closures. In a market where order book depth remains thin, even modest price moves can trigger outsized reactions.
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