Bitcoin price shoots to $69.000 after enormous short squeeze

Bitcoin surges more than 7.6% within three hours and briefly touches $70.000. Ethereum follows with a 10% rise. The move is driven by a massive short squeeze: $1.25 billion worth of short positions are liquidated in a short space of time. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is at $69.270, up 5.6% in the past 24 hours.

Bitcoin is available at OKX and Bybit.

In brief:

• Bitcoin rises more than 7.6% within three hours and briefly reaches $70.000
• Ethereum simultaneously rises 10% to $2.100
• $1.25 billion in short positions are liquidated during the squeeze

Breakout at $67.000 sets the move in motion

The sharp rally begins as soon as Bitcoin breaks through $67.000, a level at which many short positions were concentrated. Once that level falls, traders who had bet on a price decline are forced to close their positions. Those forced purchases further amplify the rally.

Daan Crypto explains on X what exactly happens at that moment.

According to the analyst, the 4% one-minute candle is larger than the largest daily candle of recent weeks. The liquidity zone at $67.000 is completely wiped out by the sudden price movement.

Billions in short positions evaporate in minutes

In total, $1.25 billion worth of short positions are liquidated. This means that a large number of traders who had speculated on a falling Bitcoin price lose their stake because the market moves too quickly and too far in the other direction.

Ethereum shows a similar pattern. The price rises 10% to $2.100 within the same period. The Ethereum price was previously at a crucial support level around $1.800, after which the recovery began.

Meanwhile, investor interest in Bitcoin remains strong. Bitcoin ETFs attracted $298 million on 17 August, pointing to sustained demand from institutional quarters. Whether the current rally leads to further inflows will have to become clear in the coming days.