Ether Jumps 8.3% After $255M in Short Liquidations

Ether rallied sharply on September 11, climbing as much as 8.3% intraday and briefly pushing above $2,600. The move wasn't driven by a protocol upgrade or an unexpected ETF approval. It was fueled by a wave of forced deleveraging as bearish bets were wiped out. More than $255 million in Ether short positions were liquidated over 24 hours, according to Coinglass. About $188 million of that total was cleared in a single hour. When large clusters of leveraged shorts unwind simultaneously, buying pressure can accelerate rapidly. How a short squeeze took hold Short squeezes can unfold as a self-reinforcing loop. Traders short by borrowing an asset and selling it, expecting prices to fall. When prices rise instead, losses force shorts to buy back at higher levels to close positions, which adds demand and pushes prices higher, triggering more covering and liquidations. That dynamic played out broadly across crypto markets on Wednesday. Bitcoin recorded roughly $172 million in short liquidations over the same period, though its price rose by less than 4%. Total crypto liquidations topped $500 million, with shorts accounting for most of the activity. Ether's push to $2,600 marked its first break above that level in months. Macro conditions added momentum The liquidation wave coincided with new U.S. economic data, including inflation readings that came in hotter than expected. Oil prices fell in the same session. Analysts pointed to rising costs for traders holding short exposure as the rally strengthened. In perpetual futures, shorts typically pay funding when the market moves against them. As funding rates climb, maintaining the position becomes more expensive. When the economics deteriorate far enough, liquidation mechanisms can take over. Similar liquidation-driven squeezes have appeared multiple times this year in both Bitcoin and Ether, often around macro data releases that leave leveraged traders positioned the wrong way. What the positioning suggests Ether's outperformance versus Bitcoin stands out. An 8.3% surge compared with less than 4% for Bitcoin indicates ETH-specific positioning was more heavily skewed to the downside heading into the data release.