Bitcoin short sellers are counting their losses as Bitcoin (BTC) experienced a significant surge, reaching a new yearly high of $57,000, an increase of nearly 11%. According to CoinGlass, a crypto data platform, over $161 million worth of BTC shorts were liquidated in the past 24 hours. Traders who were looking to short Ether (ETH) also suffered losses, with liquidations amounting to around $44 million within the same timeframe. In total, more than $270 million in short positions were liquidated as Bitcoin briefly touched $57,000.
The market as a whole has been driven by the sharp rise in Bitcoin’s price. According to TradingView data, Bitcoin rose by 10.8% from $51,471 to $57,035 in less than 24 hours. However, the price has since cooled off and is currently trading at around $56,000, still representing a 32% increase over the past month.
Swyftx lead analyst Pav Hundal described the crypto market as being “on fire right now,” highlighting the high trade volumes and institutional buying pressure. The recent approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States has attracted significant institutional capital, with net inflows into the 10 Bitcoin ETFs surpassing $515 million on Feb. 26, one of the highest daily inflows since the ETFs were approved on Jan. 11, according to Farside data.
Hundal emphasized the impact of ETFs on the Bitcoin market, stating that they are absorbing a substantial portion of the Bitcoin currently being produced. Hundal’s optimism about the future price of Bitcoin was echoed by other market analysts, who expressed their support for the asset on social media. Tyler Winklevoss, co-founder of Gemini exchange, simply stated, “We’re so back!” while BTC bull Dan Held declared that the current price action marked “the beginning of the Bitcoin bull run.”