Bitcoin (BTC) liquidated over $300M in short positions in rally above $93,000

Bitcoin (BTC) rallied above $93,000, leading to large-scale liquidation of the recently built short positions. For the last 24-hour period, BTC saw over $300M in short liquidations. 

Bitcoin (BTC) rallied above $93,000, leading to a liquidation of $300M in short positions. Before the recent price recovery, BTC quickly rebuilt derivative positions, heavily skewed toward short bets. The additional short positions appeared after the low-activity Easter weekend, dominating the available long liquidity. 

The recent BTC liquidations were the biggest since March 3, coinciding with the overall recovery following the correction in April. Long liquidations are still happening, but are a fraction of the recent short liquidations.

Bitcoin switches to greedy trading

The move to a higher price range signaled an attack against the more bearish sentiment for BTC. Despite the significant bets that BTC would slide, the market chose to attack the short positions first. After the recent liquidations, BTC has accrued more significant long positions in the $87,000-$89,000 range, with the potential for another price dip to those levels. However, the rapid short liquidations set up expectations that BTC would rally to $100,000 in an extended recovery.

The BTC market sentiment switched within days, driven by the tidal change of derivative markets. The Bitcoin fear and greed index shifted from weeks of fearful sentiment into ‘greed’ territory, rising from 29 to 72 points in the past week. BTC traded at $93,936.38 on Tuesday, riding on the momentum from the start of the new week. 

The BTC rally also led to a recovery of altcoins, though the leading coin still had a dominance of 61.2%. The recent BTC rally signals the market is ready to rebound, despite the recent pressure of US tariff negotiations. 

Bybit saw the largest liquidations

For April 22, BTC short liquidations reached over $517M, in the higher range for the past few months. 

The liquidations were led by positions on Binance, followed by Bybit. As of April 23, almost all short positions have been attacked and either closed or liquidated. The remaining short positions lead up to the $97,000 range, but at a smaller scale. 

BTC open interest continues to recover, gaining another $2B in the past day to over $28 B. The leading coin is still the object of interest for ETF, and long-term whales are buying up the available supply. Increased corporate treasury buying also boosts BTC sentiment. ETF inflows responded quickly to the renewed market sentiment. On-chain data show the ETF inflows had the most successful day since US President Donald Trump took office. In the past day, ETF bought up $912.7M worth of BTC.

BTC is yet to cross above $95,000 and establish a new range. The recent activity is also seen as a potential short-term ‘hate rally’, aiming to liquidate short positions, and it may take a few days to show if the price move was sustainable. 

Derivative markets remain more influential, capable of swaying the price in the short term despite the ongoing whale accumulation on spot and OTC markets. BTC exchange reserves are still at an all-time low of 2.5M coins, but the ability to bet on price moves does not depend on the actual supply of freely available BTC.

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