Bitcoin’s rapid price rally has caught traders off guard, triggering large liquidations of bearish short positions.
The leading cryptocurrency by market value has risen over 3% to $102,500 in the past 24 hours, with prices topping $104,000 at one point, the highest since January 31. The bullish move came as President Donald Trump announced a comprehensive trade deal with the U.K. and cumulative inflows into spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) hit a record high above $40 billion.
The broader market rallied as well, with the total market capitalization of all coins excluding BTC surging by 10% to $1.14 trillion, the highest since March 6, according to data sourced from TradingView.
This upward momentum has led to substantial liquidations of bearish short positions, which are leveraged plays aimed at profiting from price declines. A position is liquidated or forced to close when a trader’s account balance falls below the required margin level, often due to adverse price movements. This action causes the exchange to automatically close the position to prevent further losses.
In the past 24 hours, nearly $400 million in BTC short positions were liquidated, marking the highest single-day total since at least November, according to Coinglass. Meanwhile, $22 million in long positions also faced liquidation.
This significant imbalance indicates a heavy tilt towards bearish leverage, and the rapid liquidation of shorts suggests there could be more upside potential for the market ahead.
