Greenland jitters push crypto market 24-hour liquidations close to $1 billion

Large-scale liquidations hit the crypto futures market as concerns grew over potential geopolitical and trade tensions surrounding Greenland.

According to Coinglass on the 21st, total liquidations across the crypto market over the past 24 hours were tallied at about $1.07 billion. Of that, long-position liquidations came to roughly $1.01 billion, while short-position liquidations totaled about $62 million. About 94% of all liquidations occurred in long positions, meaning bullish bets took a far heavier hit than bearish bets.

By exchange, Hyperliquid recorded the largest liquidations at around $295 million, followed by Bybit at about $223 million. Binance posted roughly $176 million, Bitget about $122 million, and Gate around $97 million. Liquidations were concentrated on a handful of top venues, with volatility surging sharply.

The spike in liquidations coincided with Bitcoin briefly slipping below the $88,000 level. Market participants say risk-off sentiment intensified across risk assets as the prospect of strategic resource and trade friction centered on Greenland—particularly involving the U.S. and Europe—moved into focus. As a result, leveraged long positions were unwound in a chain reaction, amplifying volatility.

Markets are increasingly bracing for a volatile, range-bound session in the near term. Whether key support levels are regained, along with further headlines tied to geopolitical factors, is seen as the key swing factor for crypto prices and the flow of derivatives positioning.