On Friday morning during European trading, bitcoin rose above $76,000, gaining over 9% in 24 hours and 21% for the week. Two days ago, it was trading around $64,100.
Short sellers suffered further losses: according to CoinGlass, approximately $1.2 billion worth of short positions were liquidated in 24 hours out of a total of $1.4 billion, involving 156,211 traders.
Short sellers have taken another hit. Source: Coinglass.
This came after $3 billion in short positions were closed on Thursday, marking the largest single-day figure on record since 2021, bringing the two-day total to over $4 billion. The largest single position closed in the latest session was $25.13 million in bitcoin on Hyperliquid.
Liquidation occurs when a trader borrows money to place a bet larger than their funds allow, the market moves against them, and the exchange automatically closes the position before losses exceed the amount they put up. Traders betting on the price falling were hit, and each forced closure pushed prices higher, creating a cascade of liquidations.
The size of this sum is significant because it distinguishes a rally based on demand from one based on mechanics. Traders forced to buy are not deciding bitcoin is worth more; they are closing a losing bet.
Meanwhile, Hyperliquid (HYPE) rose more than 4% to nearly $73 and leads major exchanges this week, up almost 27%. Ethereum gained almost 5% to $2,350 and is up 24.5% for the week. Dogecoin rose nearly 9% to just over 8 cents, and Solana gained over 5% to just under $90, both up 17% for the week.
BNB rose 6% to $660, up 8% for the week. Tron lagged, gaining 1.5% to just under 34 cents and remaining virtually unchanged for the week.
The rally began on Wednesday when the U.S. Treasury Department doubled the size of its long-term bond buyback from $2 billion to $4 billion per operation, easing conditions in the roughly $30 trillion Treasury market and boosting risk appetite.
Bitcoin then broke through resistance around $66,600, bringing the $76,000 level into view for traders as the next target.
Washington also contributed to the rise. At a White House event on Wednesday, President Donald Trump urged Congress to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, attended by executives from Coinbase, Gemini, Ripple, and Chainlink Labs.
Bitcoin's current market capitalization is $1.5 trillion, still roughly 40% below its record high of over $126,000 set last October.
