Bitcoin leads $400M liquidation wave as bulls get squeezed – When will it stop?

ambcryptoPublished on 2026-04-03Last updated on 2026-04-03

Abstract

Crypto liquidations surged to over $456 million on April 2, with long positions accounting for $287 million and shorts making up $169 million. Bitcoin's drop below $66K contributed to the sell-off, while its funding rate briefly turned negative. BTC saw the highest liquidations at $57 million. Market sentiment shifted bearish after a brief bullish period in mid-March, as indicated by the Bitcoin Positioning Index falling below zero. Futures liquidations have been dominated by longs since October 2025, reflecting persistent bearish pressure. A reversal above zero in the positioning index, along with dominant short liquidations, would signal a bullish shift, but current conditions suggest further downside risk, possibly below $65K.

Crypto liquidations reached over $400 million on Thursday, 02 April. While the total liquidations measured $271.18 million on Wednesday, 01 April, figures for the same climbed to $456.19 million on Thursday.

Of these liquidations, $287 million were long and $169 million were short positions. Bitcoin’s [BTC] price drop below $66K on Thursday likely contributed to the short-term selling across the market.

Bitcoin’s funding rate also fell into negative territory on Thursday, but the same had climbed to +0.0008% at press time. The liquidation and funding rate data from CoinGlass revealed that BTC recorded the highest amount of liquidations in the last 24 hours, measuring $57.17 million.

Brief sentiment shift in mid-March was not enough

According to Crypto analyst Axel Adler Jr, the Bitcoin Positioning Index indicator’s 30-day moving average reached +3.0 on 17 March. The indicator measures the aggressiveness of market participants in the derivatives market.

The +3.0 reading highlighted bullish positioning, but BTC’s price correction over the last two weeks brought the positioning index back below zero. This hinted at more aggressive bearish positioning.

The crypto market is heavily influenced by Bitcoin trends. A return above zero for the Positioning Index’s 30-day moving average would be a positive sign for crypto bulls.

As things stand, short positioning is still dominant across the market.

Futures liquidations have been increasingly dominated by long liquidations. The dominance of short liquidations has been absent since October 2025. This alluded to the bearish strength in the market once again.

A reversal in the positioning index 30SMA above zero, combined with dominance of short liquidations, would signal a bullish regime change.

As things stand, this outcome would be unlikely. In fact, according to a previous AMBCrypto report, the prevalent bearish sentiment could see Bitcoin fall below the $65K lows. This would drag the crypto market lower.

Final Summary

Bearish positioning has been widespread across the BTC derivatives market.
Shift in the positioning index and the liquidations dominance would be a good sign for buyers.

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