Crypto traders betting on higher prices just had a rough day. Over the past 24 hours, $631 million in long positions were liquidated across crypto markets.

Bitcoin spent the period moving between roughly $76,000 and $80,500. A swing like that sounds modest for crypto. For traders running on borrowed money, it was enough to blow up positions in bulk.

A long position is a bet that an asset’s price will rise. When traders use leverage, they borrow funds to make that bet bigger. The catch is that the exchange holds the deposit as collateral. If the price drops far enough, the collateral can no longer cover potential losses. At that point, the exchange closes the position automatically. That forced exit is a liquidation, and the trader has no…