Bitcoin Tops $85,000 as Short Squeeze Accelerates Rally
Bitcoin's price surged above $85,000 on Wednesday after a massive wave of short liquidations accelerated the cryptocurrency's strongest advance since January. According to data from CryptoSlate, BTC gained over 5% in the past 24 hours, reaching $85,193 and extending its 35-day advance to about 29%. The asset had previously broken through levels that constrained its recovery for much of the year.
The rally caught bearish traders off guard, with CoinGlass data showing approximately $750.5 million in leveraged crypto positions liquidated over the past 24 hours. Roughly 86% of these liquidations came from short positions, totaling around $648 million. Bitcoin accounted for about $360 million of the liquidations, while Ethereum contributed nearly $171 million.
The largest single liquidation was an $11.29 million BTC-USDT position on Binance. The forced unwinding coincided with a sharp increase in aggressive buying across Bitcoin derivatives markets, with CryptoQuant data showing net taker volume on Binance jumping from approximately $11 million to $618 million within an hour as European trading opened.
CryptoQuant attributed the shift partly to improving geopolitical sentiment, as investors responded to signs of potential diplomatic progress between the US and Iran. Oil prices also declined, supporting a broader return of risk appetite despite continued tensions in the region.