Bitcoin Soars 7.9% as Short Squeeze Liquidates Over $1 Billion
Bitcoin's price has surged to new heights after a week of bullish sentiment in Washington. The largest cryptocurrency rose by 7.9% over the past 24 hours, reaching an intraday high of $79,320 and capping a strong week that saw it climb 23.2%. This increase triggered a short squeeze, with CoinGlass logging over $1.5 billion in total crypto liquidations across 178,777 traders.
Of this amount, roughly $1.21 billion was from shorts being liquidated, with the surge forcing bearish traders to buy back their positions and add fuel to the fire. The dynamic is a textbook short squeeze, where rising prices push prices even higher. This phenomenon has been witnessed before, particularly in the recent past when Bitcoin torched some $3 billion in shorts.
The rally comes on the heels of favorable headlines from Washington, including President Donald Trump's backing of the Clarity Act and signals that regulators are working to bring Hyperliquid onshore. This has helped juice sentiment across the market, with other major tokens such as Ethereum, Solana also climbing alongside Bitcoin. The market capitalization of Bitcoin stands near $1.55 trillion, while its 24-hour trading volume topped $69 billion.