Bitcoin’s recent surge has stunned traders, leading to significant short position liquidations amid a broader market rally fueled by a U.K. trade deal and record ETF inflows.
The leading cryptocurrency surged over 3% to $102,500 in the past 24 hours, briefly topping $104,000, its highest level since January 31. This sharp increase coincided with U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of a trade deal with the U.K. and a record $40 billion inflow into spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tracking Bitcoin.
The broader cryptocurrency market also saw impressive gains, with the total market capitalization of altcoins excluding Bitcoin jumping 10% to $1.14 trillion, the highest since March 6, according to TradingView.
This rapid rise in prices led to a wave of liquidations of short positions, with nearly $400 million in bearish Bitcoin positions being closed out in the past 24 hours. According to Coinglass, this is the largest single-day liquidation since at least November. Additionally, $22 million in long positions were also liquidated.
The significant number of short liquidations reflects a market heavily skewed toward bearish sentiment, and the fast pace of the recent rally suggests that further upside could be in store as traders adjust to the momentum shift.
