Bitcoin surges to $84K as more than $258m in shorts are wiped out in an hour

Bitcoin jumped by around $2.400 this morning and briefly touched the $84.000 mark. That puts BTC at its highest price since January. The sudden move has simultaneously triggered a huge wave of liquidations on the derivatives market. In just one hour, almost $268 million worth of positions were liquidated, the overwhelming majority of them held by traders betting on a falling crypto market.

Bitcoin rally takes a heavy toll on short sellers

The move towards $84.000 came so quickly that many traders holding short positions had no time to react. Liquidation data shows that $267.94 million worth of positions were closed out within a single hour.

No less than $258.20 million of that total came from shorts. Long positions accounted for just $9.74 million. That means more than 96% of all liquidations during that hour were down to short sellers.

Bitcoin delivered by far the biggest blow. Some $212.92 million worth of BTC positions were liquidated in one hour. Ethereum followed at a considerable distance with $26.53 million, while Solana accounted for around $8.65 million.

The figures show just how unexpected the move was for part of the market. When Bitcoin rises rapidly, short positions can be closed automatically as soon as traders have insufficient collateral. Those forced purchases can in turn add further fuel to the rally.

Over a twelve hour period, total liquidations have now reached $434.57 million. Of that, $387.71 million came from shorts and $46.86 million from longs.

BTC hits highest level since January

With the rise to $84.000, Bitcoin has reached its highest level since January. The speed of the move is particularly striking. BTC added roughly $2.400 to its price in a short space of time this morning.

The combination of a rapidly rising Bitcoin price and more than $258 million worth of shorts liquidated in a single hour points to a firm short squeeze. Bearish positions are being closed, which can in turn create additional buying pressure.

Whether Bitcoin can sustain the move above $84.000 remains to be seen. After such a rapid rise, the key question is whether the former resistance level can now act as support.

Ethereum sets its sights on $2.900 to $3.000

Ethereum is also benefiting from the more positive market. ETH is trading around $2.700 on the weekly chart and, according to analyst Ted Pillows, closed last week above the important $2.550 level.

Pillows expects Ethereum to push higher towards $2.900 to $3.000 as a result. After that, he anticipates a correction. The chart also shows a significant resistance zone around $2.800.

On the downside, his analysis puts the first major support around $2.547. If Ethereum loses that level, zones around $2.190 and $1.965 come back into play. For now, however, ETH is moving upwards, while the sudden Bitcoin rally is providing extra momentum across the wider crypto market.