Bitcoin liquidations top $283M as short squeeze lifts BTC

Bitcoin traded between about $75,400 and $73,200 during the New York market open on Thursday. The drop to $73,200 wiped out $283 million in futures positions and a rapid rebound pushed the price back above $75,000 within roughly three hours.

Market commentator CryptoReviewing recorded about $166 million in long liquidations during the initial decline. After the reversal, roughly $117 million of short positions were closed. CoinGlass liquidation data showed sharp spikes during both the sell-off and the rebound. Funding rates moved positive to about +0.0005 following the bounce.

On-chain measures and market-flow data indicated the rebound was driven mainly by shorts covering. Velo.chart’s cumulative volume delta for spot trading continued to trend lower during the recovery, showing weaker net spot buying even as futures activity lifted the price above $74,000.

Analyst KriptoHolder mapped concentrated liquidity between $76,000 and $78,000, estimating about $2.81 billion in short-leveraged liquidity in that band. KriptoHolder identified $74,000 as a short-term equilibrium area. Long-leveraged positions of roughly $2.5 billion sit below $72,000.

Short-term trading patterns also shaped the session. Trader Killa noted that eight of the past 11 Thursdays recorded more downside than upside, and Thursday’s session showed about a 2% decline from the daily open before the squeeze.

Market participants say stronger spot demand would be needed for Bitcoin to hold gains above the $76,000 range. Until spot buying increases, price may remain sensitive to rapid liquidation swings around the identified liquidity clusters.