Crypto liquidations hit $216M in 24 hours, longs and shorts both burned

The near-even split between long and short liquidations is the tell: this was a two-way chop, not a one-directional flush, which tends to punish leverage on both sides rather than resolve a trend. Bitcoin absorbing roughly half the damage reinforces that the pain was concentrated in the most liquid, most leveraged instrument. Whether this kind of balanced washout continues, or gives way to a cleaner directional move, is the open question worth watching in funding and open interest.