Ether Rips 8% Higher, Torching $255M in Short Bets
Sep 12, 2026
Ethereum jumped as much as 8.3% in its biggest move in three weeks, wiping out over $255 million in short positions in a single day.
Ether Steals the Spotlight
While everyone keeps their eyes glued to Bitcoin, Ether quietly (well, not that quietly) put on the best show in crypto this week. ETH jumped as much as 8.3% in a single session, its biggest single-day move in three weeks.
The bounce caught a lot of traders leaning the wrong way. Over a 24-hour stretch, short positions on Ether got wiped out to the tune of more than $255 million. For comparison, Bitcoin shorts only lost around $172 million over the same period, which is unusual since BTC is normally where the bigger leverage sits.
Shorts Got Squeezed Hard
That's a classic short squeeze setup: bearish positioning stacks up, price moves against it, and the unwind adds fuel to the rally. It's a good reminder that when everyone's leaning the same way, the market has a habit of doing the opposite.
Whether this move has legs or fades back into the range, one thing is clear: Ether isn't just riding Bitcoin's coattails right now. It's setting its own pace, and the leverage data backs that up.