Bitcoin fell to around $76,700 on May 18, marking its lowest level in over two weeks and triggering liquidations of more than $661 million on centralized exchanges within 24 hours. Long positions bore the brunt of the losses, with about $584 million in longs liquidated, compared to significantly lower liquidations for shorts.
Data on liquidations and deleveraging
The distribution of liquidations shows a clear one-sided reduction in exposure. Longs accounted for the vast majority of closed positions, indicating that the bullish leveraged exposure built up during the previous rally was quickly eliminated once the price dropped below $77,000. This type of imbalance in liquidations often signals the exhaustion of weak long positions rather than aggressive short selling pressure.
Market structure and positioning
Despite massive liquidations on the long side, open interest on the major exchanges remains relatively high. This suggests that although the weak leverage has been removed, a significant part of the positioning is still active. Funding rates turned negative after the move, reflecting a shift in sentiment as leveraged long positions were forced out of the market.
Key levels and short-term risk
Bitcoin is now trading below the $77,000 and $78,000 areas. The $76,000 – $76,500 area has become the immediate level to watch.
new TradingView.widget({ «width»: «100%», «height»: 400, «symbol»: «BINANCE:BTCUSDT», «interval»: «60», «timezone»: «Etc/UTC», «theme»: «light», «style»: «1», «locale»: «en», «toolbar_bg»: «#f1f3f6», «enable_publishing»: false, «container_id»: «tradingview_btc» }); A sustained decline below this range could trigger another wave of liquidations, while a quick bounce above $78,000 would be needed to stabilize the market and reduce downward pressure on leveraged positions. The current setup indicates a market that has gone through a significant deleveraging event but has yet to find strong directional conviction. With open interest still high and funding rates negative, further volatility remains likely until price either recovers from key resistances or confirms lower supports through further liquidation pressure.