Shorts liquidate upward
A short’s risk is a price spike — and crypto squeezes upward violently. The higher the leverage, the closer the liquidation sits above your entry. Check the exact level on the liquidation calculator.
Shorts are not mirrored longs
The mechanics look symmetric — profit when price falls, liquidated when it rises — but the payoff geometry differs. A long can gain without limit and lose 100%. A short gains at most 100% (price to zero) and loses without limit on the way up. Squeezes exist because of this asymmetry: forced short liquidations are buys, fueling the exact rally that's killing the shorts.
Worked example at 10x: short $1,000 at $2.00. Liquidation sits near $2.19 (+9.5%). If the coin pumps 15% on a listing rumor, you're gone before you can react — alts do 15% candles routinely. The same trader shorting at 3x survives to $2.63 and gets to be wrong for a while.
Funding is the consolation: in downtrends funding often flips negative, meaning shorts get paid to hold. Check the rate before entry — a positive-funding short pays rent while fighting asymmetric risk.