Bitcoin’s Surge To $69,000 Triggers $580M Liquidation Frenzy Across Crypto

Of that $580 million, around $470 million came from short positions being wiped out.

A sign advertises a Bitcoin ATM at a gas station on July 16, 2025 near Pasadena, California. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Prabhjote Gill·Stocktwits

Published Feb 26, 2026 | 12:57 AM EST

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The overall cryptocurrency market rallied around 5% to over $2.44 trillion.
Cardano led gains among crypto majors with double digit gains in the 24 hours.
Retail sentiment on Stocktwits turned ‘bullish’ for most cryptocurrencies, but traders are still cautious on Ethereum and Dogecoin despite gains that outperformed Bitcoin.

Bitcoin’s (BTC) price crossed $69,000 on Wednesday, a move that caught traders off guard and forced roughly $580 million in leveraged positions to be closed over the past 24 hours.

Bitcoin’s price was trading at around $68,700 on Wednesday night after slightly paring gains, still up by 4.8% in the last 24 hours. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the apex cryptocurrency turned ‘bullish’ for the first time this year, up from ‘neutral’ territory a day ago.

Screenshot 2026-02-26 005408.png — BTC retail sentiment and message volume on February 25 as of 11:55 p.m. ET | Source: Stocktwits

The overall cryptocurrency market rallied around 5% to over $2.44 trillion. The unexpected surge triggered $576 million in liquidations over the last 24 hours, CoinGlass data showed. Most of the forced unwinds were on the short side, amounting to around $470 million with around $100 million in losses on long positions.

Cardano Leads Gains Among Crypto Majors

Cardano (ADA) posted double-digit gains of over 11% in the last 24 hours. Cardano’s price rose to around $0.29, with retail sentiment around the altcoin on Stocktwits continuing to trend in ‘bullish’ territory over the past day. Chatter rose to ‘high’ from ‘normal’ levels.

Screenshot 2026-02-26 005432.png — ADA retail sentiment and message volume on February 25 as of 11:55 p.m. ET | Source: Stocktwits

Dogecoin (DOGE) and Ethereum (ETH) also outperformed Bitcoin with gains of around 9% each. Ethereum’s price finally crossed back above $2,000 and DOGE’s price recuperated to around $0.10. Retail sentiment around Ethereum remained cautious, shifting to ‘neutral’ from ‘bearish’ territory over the past day, while retail sentiment around Dogecoin remained in the ‘bearish’ zone.