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.