Hyperliquid liquidation map: how to read it
A liquidation map shows at which prices open positions will be force-closed. On most exchanges such maps are estimates: positions are hidden, so liquidation levels are guessed from open interest and typical leverage. On Hyperliquid every position’s liquidation price is public, so the map on HyperScan is built from real positions of real addresses.
What the map shows
Open any coin page — for example BTC — and scroll to the liquidation map. The price range around the current price is split into steps of 0.5%. For each step there are two bars:
- Colored bar — the value of positions that get liquidated if the price reaches this level. Below the current price these are longs, above it — shorts.
- Grey bar — order book liquidity at the same level: bids below the price, asks above it. This is what can absorb the forced orders.
Positions of all tracked addresses from $2.5M are included, of any type: a hedge or a market maker’s position gets liquidated just like a directional bet.
How to read it
- Where the colored bar is taller than the grey one, the book at that level can’t absorb the liquidations. The forced orders will push the price further — this is where cascades start.
- Distance matters. A large cluster 1–2% away can be reached by an ordinary move; one 15% away is a scenario, not a risk for today.
- Compare both sides. Heavy long liquidations below and thin bids mean the market is fragile to the downside; the mirror image — to the upside.
- Watch who is at risk. The whale positions table on the same page can be sorted by distance to liquidation, so you can see exactly whose positions form a cluster.
Clusters on the price chart
The same data is drawn as horizontal lines on the coin’s price chart. Neighbouring levels with large liquidations are merged into one cluster; clusters from $1M are shown, up to three per side. A solid line means the cluster is larger than the order book at those levels — a candidate for a cascade. A dashed line means the book can absorb it. The “Liquidation clusters” button hides the lines.
From a map to a squeeze
When the price reaches a cluster, liquidations become market orders, the price moves further and reaches the next cluster. That chain is a squeeze. HyperScan turns the map into a single number — squeeze risk — by comparing liquidation fuel with book depth within 2%, 5% and 10% of the price. How it works is explained in the guide on long and short squeezes.
Limitations
- Only addresses with $2.5M+ in positions are counted. Mid-size leveraged traders are not, so the real fuel is larger than shown.
- Hyperliquid softens cascades: large positions are liquidated in parts with pauses, and deeply underwater positions go to the HLP vault without hitting the book.
- The visible book thins out in volatile moments as market makers pull orders, and far from the price the exchange returns only an aggregated book — depth there is approximate.
- The map shows current levels, not their history, and it shows where the fuel is — not when it ignites.