XRP Shorts Account for Nearly 95% of All XRP Liquidations in 12 Hours

Shorts account for almost 95% of the $2.7 million liquidated in the XRP market over the last 12 hours, leading to speculation of an imminent short squeeze.

This comes as the XRP price embarks on a recovery push alongside the rest of the crypto market on the back of the U.S.-Iran peace deal. Specifically, XRP gained nearly 5% over the weekend, reaching $1.1872 before pulling back slightly to the current price of $1.804.

Shorts Dominate XRP Liquidation Data

Data provided by leading market analytics platform Coinglass shows that this sudden upward thrust resulted in massive losses for investors who continued to bet on an XRP downturn. 

Notably, over the last 24 hours, the XRP market has seen $3.7 million in total liquidations. Of this figure, short positions account for $2.54 million, representing a massive 68.6% market share.

Interestingly, the data shows a higher imbalance in the past 12 hours, as liquidations skew almost entirely to bearish bets. Specifically, while XRP has recorded $2.68 million in total liquidated figures within this period, shorts make up $2.5 million, amounting to 94.7%.

Further data reveals that most of these liquidations occurred between 22:00 and 23:00 on June 14, which marked the peak liquidation hour. A look at the XRP charts confirms that this coincided with a period that saw XRP record a stretch of multiple green 30-minute candles.

On June 14, from 20:00 to 23:30, XRP saw a stretch of eight consecutive green candlesticks. Within this 4-hour period, the price shot up from $1.1327 to $1.1873, marking an impressive 4.82% gain, before XRP faced resistance and began consolidating around the $1.18 mark.

Short Squeeze Incoming?

While XRP appears to be taking a break at press time, bullish traders believe a short squeeze could play out if the market sees a resurgence of buying pressure. 

For the uninitiated, a short squeeze occurs when traders betting on a price drop are forced to buy back the asset to limit losses as its price climbs. This increased buying momentum further adds upward pressure, driving the price much higher in a sharp move.

Despite the surge in short liquidations, Coinglass data indicates that traders continue to bet on an XRP pullback. Notably, the XRP liquidation heatmap shows a cluster of high-volume shorts above the current price, with the largest one involving $280 million at $1.199.

This suggests that if XRP’s upward trend pushes further toward the $1.20 area, the short positions around this area could be forced to unwind. If the traders holding these bets rush to buy back XRP to reduce their losses, a mild short squeeze could ensue, helping push prices higher.

However, it remains unclear if XRP can resume the uptrend. So far, the crypto asset has faced a roadblock around $1.9, as the bullish momentum weakens. This has led to higher long liquidations over shorter timeframes, with $16,210 in the last 4 hours, much higher than the $6,580 recorded by short positions.