The market is back to a point where sentiment is likely to be the biggest driver for investors.
From a technical perspective, crypto has flipped back into risk-on mode with Bitcoin reclaiming the $60k level. That has put the whole “Has BTC bottomed?” debate back on the table. Considering Bitcoin [BTC] has been consolidating around this range for nearly four weeks, the latest move is starting to make a convincing case.
As expected, the rally caught overexposed shorts off guard. According to CoinGlass data, Bitcoin started Q3 with roughly $126 million in short liquidations, triggering the biggest bear trap in nearly a month. It’s a textbook short squeeze where price breaks higher, short sellers rush to cover, and their forced buying adds even more fuel to the rally.
Looking at the chart above, one thing stands out, though. Long liquidations have been dominating for the past few weeks while BTC has been chopping around $60k. In the final week of June alone, nearly $340 million in long positions were wiped out in a single day. Despite that, Bitcoin never lost its structure.
That makes the recent long liquidations look less like panic selling and more like a healthy deleveraging event. Traders have flushed out most of the excess leverage, reset market positioning, and reduced the one-sided crowding. That’s typically the kind of setup that gives a breakout more room to extend.
According to AMBCrypto, that’s what makes this rally different. The move isn’t running on liquidations alone. Under the surface, sentiment has started to improve while the market has already worked through most of its excess leverage. With positioning looking much cleaner, Bitcoin’s latest push has a much stronger foundation to develop into a broader market reversal.
STRC flips bullish as Bitcoin’s rally gains stronger footing
Macro FUD has eased following Kevin Warsh’s latest comments on inflation.
For context, Warsh argued that the U.S. could emerge as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the AI boom. His thesis is straightforward: AI-driven productivity should expand supply across the economy, easing the inflation pressures that pushed CPI to 4.2% in May and kept the Fed in a higher-for-longer stance.
However, the bigger shift isn’t just in the macro narrative. Instead, markets are starting to price in that possibility, and the change in sentiment is becoming increasingly visible across crypto. The clearest signal is the STRC Index, which has jumped more than 17% this week, marking its strongest weekly inflow on record.
Considering STRC is a key funding vehicle behind Strategy’s Bitcoin accumulation, that rebound is difficult to ignore. It suggests institutional capital is starting to flow back into the market.
That narrative also lines up with Santiment’s latest data. Since the 6th of May, Bitcoin ETFs have seen roughly $8.475 billion in net outflows, a level that has historically aligned with late-stage capitulation. In simple terms, weak hands appear to have largely exited, leaving the market in a much healthier position.
Taken together, improving STRC inflows, a cleaner derivatives market, and signs of ETF capitulation suggest Bitcoin’s latest move is more than just another short squeeze. It looks increasingly like the first leg of a broader market reversal.
