Dogecoin, ApeCoin see higher-than-usual liquidations in volatile trading

Volatile trading on futures tracking the tokens of Dogecoin (DOGE) and ApeCoin (APE) resulted in millions of dollars in losses to liquidations, data from tracking tools show.

Losses on DOGE futures exceeded $22.65 million in the past 24 hours while losses on APE futures exceeded $11.77 million. The figures were higher than on other days, the data show.

Among the DOGE losses some 68.9% were from shorts, or traders betting against higher prices. Prices surged to as much as $0.17 from Monday’s $0.12 low, and are still 32% higher than yesterday.

DOGE has seen a volatile trading session since Monday night. (TradingView)

The price jump in DOGE seemed to arise mainly in the hours before the announcement of Tesla CEO Elon Musk's acquisition of social media giant Twitter in a $44 billion deal.

No direct link between the two events exists, but some market observers say Musk could use his influence to include DOGE as a payment method on Twitter. Tesla already accepts the memecoin as a payment option for its merchandise.

APE futures saw $7.9 million in losses from short trades, representing 67% of the total. APE traded at the $17 level in European afternoon hours on Monday, rising to nearly $20 in early Asian hours today. Prices have since dropped back to the $17.88 level.

APE trades above a pivotal level at $17. (TradingView)

The rise in APE prices came as the community discussed staking features for the native token of the Bored Ape Yacht Club ecosystem, a collection of 10,000 NFT Apes that has become one of the biggest NFT projects by popularity and market capitalization in the past year.

The proposal weighs the benefits of allowing participants to stake APE and use the Bored Ape Yacht Club ecosystem NFTs to receive APE rewards from a preset pool over a set period of time.

APE rose even as BAYC’s official Instagram handle was exploited late on Monday, resulting in some $3 million in losses, as reported. An unofficial "mint" link was sent out by the Instagram account to unsuspecting followers, with the wallets of those who clicked the link being compromised.

The futures losses on APE and DOGE futures contributed to over $200 million in overall liquidations as the broader market rallied by some 3.2% in the past 24 hours. Bitcoin and ether regained previous support levels after dropping below them over the weekend, while Terra’s LUNA surged 10%.