Bitcoin (BTC) Liquidation Imbalance of 346% Sends $52M in Longs to the S

A 346% liquidation imbalance is exactly what happened today as Bitcoin (BTC) flushed out $52 million in longs against just $15 million in shorts

Bitcoin price dropped by 2% in one hour on Wednesday as a 346% liquidation imbalance saw over three times as much long positions flushed out against just $15 million in short positions, flipping sentiment and price direction without any macro trigger or breaking news.

As Bitcoin slid from highs above $86,000 to lows below $84,000, the move was triggered by an imbalance in the market as price slid too far without any fresh fundamental drivers to continue the ascent.

Instead, the move lower saw a technical correction as Bitcoin slid, liquidating over-leveraged traders who were entering positions in anticipation of further gains, but who got caught out by the sudden shift in momentum.

The initial result wasn’t dramatic on the surface, but the effect was clear: price dropped, leverage reset with Bitcoin slipping above $86,000 again before fading back below $84,000, suggesting not so much a collapse as a mechanical reset after bearish traders were caught leaning too hard into a narrative that had already run out of momentum.

This wasn’t a moment of FOMO or euphoria, just a reality check — one where an over-leveraged market quietly tipped over and forced liquidations to clean up the excess.

While $67 million in total liquidations over a short period isn’t a massive number in isolation, the ratio or the imbalance is what matters here, because it reveals just how concentrated sentiment had become and how little downside buffer existed once the tide turned.

There was no CPI data, no Fed minutes, no sudden move in rates — just the natural consequence of leverage-heavy setups overstaying. You can see the results on the chart, which show how quickly prices bounce back once weak positions are cleared.