Skip to navigationSkip to main contentSkip to right columnADVERTISEMENTCryptoProwlThu, August 20, 2026 at 3:49 PM GMT+2 2 min readShort sellers quickly lost close to $3 billion U.S. on their bearish bets as the price of Bitcoin (CRYPTO: $BTC) jumped above $70,000 U.S. late on Aug. 19. Market data shows that traders and investors who were short Bitcoin lost $2.70 billion U.S. in the past 24 hours as the price of BTC got as high as $72,000 U.S.Total liquidations due to the sharp rise in Bitcoin's price impacted 172,108 professional traders, according to data from CoinGlass. It's the biggest loss on Bitcoin short bets since 2021. More From Cryptoprowl:MEXC July TradFi Trading Shifts Toward AI Storage as SNDK Futures Volume Surges More Than 15x TimesPolymarket Hires Former Uber Executive To Lead Growth InitiativeHyperliquid Turns to CFTC for Path Into U.S. Perpetual Futures MarketCanadian Defense Tech Firm Jumps 92% as Government Revenue Boosts Margins