Bitcoin traders see $75M wiped out after $65,500 rejections

On Monday, July 27, 2026, bitcoin failed three times to break above $65,500 and dropped from session highs near $65,500 to about $64,336, wiping out roughly $75 million in leveraged bets.

Price climbed from just above $64,600 late Sunday to a session high of $65,500 after reports of a pause in fighting between U.S. and Iranian forces. The price briefly held above $65,000, reclaimed $65,500 at 2:15 a.m. EDT, then fell below $65,000 about six hours later. A third rejection at $65,500 triggered a sharper decline to $64,336 before the market recovered some ground.

Data from derivatives tracker Coinglass showed nearly $75 million in liquidations over a 24-hour period, with about $45 million in short liquidations and roughly $30 million in long liquidations.

Traders and analysts pointed to a mix of factors behind the swings. The initial rally followed reports of eased U.S.-Iran tensions and a pullback in crude oil. Momentum cooled after weak inflows into spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds and ongoing political disputes over the final text of the CLARITY Act.

MicroStrategy raised about $544.5 million from a recent sale of its MSTR shares and did not add to its bitcoin holdings. The company’s decision to hold cash rather than buy bitcoin removed a potential source of demand during trading around the resistance level.

The Crypto Council for Innovation described the CLARITY Act as expanding anti-money-laundering and counter-financing rules, establishing decentralized finance cybersecurity standards with NIST, and allocating $150 million to FinCEN for implementation. Opponents continue to press for changes, and political disputes over the bill were cited as weighing on investor sentiment.

By the end of the session, bitcoin had recovered some losses but remained near session levels, with a market capitalization near $1.3 trillion. The cryptocurrency entered July trading under $59,000 and was up modestly for the month.