Bitcoin holds $70K as ETF inflows resume and leverage resets

• Lyla Velez
• February 16, 2026
• News
• 0 Comments

Key Points:

• $1.9B weekly liquidations figure remains unverified by named data providers.
• Clarify timeframe, coverage, and notional versus realized to interpret liquidation claims.
• Weekly totals may double-count rapid cascades, overstating systemic market stress.

A claim that over $1.9 billion in leveraged positions were liquidated in the past seven days remains unverified. The exact seven‑day tally has not been corroborated by named market data providers and may conflate shorter liquidation waves with a weekly sum.

The figure resembles prior 24‑hour liquidation spikes more than a normalized weekly total. What matters is clarifying timeframe, understanding exchange and asset coverage, and distinguishing notional liquidation values from realized losses.

Weekly running totals can also double‑count rapid cascades that occur within hours. Without a transparent methodology, a headline sum risks overstating systemic stress and understating how liquidations were distributed between longs and shorts.

How to verify weekly crypto liquidations accurately

Based on data from CoinGlass, start by selecting the liquidations dashboard, set the timeframe explicitly to seven days, and include all major exchanges and assets to avoid partial coverage. Confirm whether the displayed figure is a USD‑notional sum and whether it separates longs from shorts.

According to CryptoQuant, corroborate the weekly liquidation count against derivatives context: changes in aggregate open interest, funding rates normalizing toward neutral, and any long‑short skew that signals forced deleveraging rather than discretionary selling. Aligning these series helps confirm whether a weekly liquidation total reflects a single cascade or multiple smaller events.

Finally, reconcile the weekly result with the highest 24‑hour spike in the period to prevent double‑counting. Consistency across providers and clarity on methodology reduce the risk of misinterpreting a headline number.

Leverage reset: what it is and why it matters

A leverage reset occurs when cascading liquidations force a rapid contraction in open interest, typically driving funding rates toward neutral and clearing crowded positions. The process can stabilize market structure but may leave volatility elevated as liquidity thins and positions rebuild.

As reported by Analytics Insight, Bitcoin held near $70,000 as ETF inflows returned and traders watched $72,000 as a near‑term resistance, framing the reset within broader spot and derivatives flows. In that context, ETF demand can cushion forced deleveraging, but it does not eliminate near‑term volatility after a reset.

Some market commentators characterized recent outsized liquidation waves as a forced flush of leveraged longs rather than a standard correction. As reported by The Market Periodical, Ash Crypto, a market commentator, said, “cartels have liquidated almost every Bitcoin long.”

After a reset, monitoring matters more than any single tally: watch whether open interest rebuilds gradually, whether funding remains balanced, and whether liquidation clusters shrink over time. At the time of this writing, price action around the $70,000 area serves as context rather than a signal, and figures should be read alongside transparent methodology and cross‑checks.