Author|jk
The quiet crypto market suddenly roared "bull run" today, with mainstream cryptocurrencies collectively experiencing a sharp rally. Bitcoin reclaimed the $69,000 mark, Ethereum surged nearly 20% in a single day, and Hyperliquid skyrocketed over 22%. The rapid price surge was accompanied by a large-scale liquidation of short positions.
Mainstream Cryptocurrencies Rise Across the Board
- Bitcoin: According to Coingecko data, currently trading at $69,165, up 7.4% in 24 hours, with a 24-hour trading range between $64,123.86–$69,892.23, a total market cap of $1.393 trillion, and 24-hour volume of $41.587 billion. After maintaining a narrow range in the morning, the price initiated a rapid rally during the European trading session.
Bitcoin Price Chart, Source: Coingecko
- Ethereum: Currently trading at $2,269.04, surging 18.6% in 24 hours, with a trading range of $1,905.44–$2,318.66, market cap reaching $274.047 billion. Ethereum's gains in this rally significantly outperformed Bitcoin's, and its exchange rate against BTC also strengthened, indicating accelerated capital inflow back into the Ethereum ecosystem.
Ethereum Price Chart, Source: Coingecko
- BNB: Currently trading at $631.92, up 4.9% in 24 hours, with a relatively moderate gain among mainstream large caps, trading range $600.92–$635.85.
- Solana: Currently trading at $85.65, up 11.2% in 24 hours, trading range $76.59–$86.96, market cap $49.952 billion, the chart shows an accelerated breakout above previous highs.
- Hyperliquid (HYPE): The most dramatic gainer in this rally, currently trading at $71.41, surging 22.2% in 24 hours, trading range $58.04–$72.28.
Reason Analysis: Macro Spark, Leveraged Structure Amplifies Gains
Considering recent market dynamics and derivatives data, this rally was not driven by a single factor, but rather the combined effect of macro liquidity tailwinds, warmer regulatory signals, and the concentrated unwinding of leveraged short positions.
Reason One: U.S. Treasury's unexpected "injection," lowering long-term rates, boosting risk appetite. On August 19 local time, the U.S. Treasury Department announced it would at least double the size of its long-term Treasury buyback operations, increasing from $2 billion per operation to over $4 billion, covering the period from September 9 to November 4, primarily targeting 10 to 30-year Treasury bonds. This move was seen as a direct response to the recent surge in the 30-year Treasury yield to its highest level since 2007 (briefly reaching 5.34%). Following the announcement, yields on both the 10-year and 30-year Treasuries immediately fell, and U.S. stock futures rose in tandem, with the overall improvement in risk appetite providing a tailwind for the crypto market. The market interpreted the Treasury's operation as a de facto liquidity injection, and its timing aligns closely with the start of the crypto market rally.
Reason Two: White House crypto summit combined with SEC regulatory easing shifts policy sentiment positively. On the same day, Trump met with crypto industry executives from companies like Coinbase, Ripple, Gemini, and leaders from the SEC and CFTC at the White House, reiterating efforts to push the CLARITY Act through the Senate quickly to provide a clearer regulatory framework for the industry. Just one day before the summit, the SEC formally proposed a new draft rule named Regulation Crypto Assets, aiming to provide crypto project teams with a fundraising exemption channel of up to $75 million per year. The intensive release of friendly signals from regulators and the White House within the same week has somewhat alleviated market concerns about previous policy uncertainty, providing a narrative foundation for capital to flow back into crypto assets.
Trump meets industry leaders, Source: ABCNews
Reason Three: Bitcoin Spot ETF outflows trend reverses, whales accumulating on dips. Previously, Bitcoin Spot ETFs had seen consecutive days of net outflows. However, this rally is accompanied by signs of improving fund flows, with leading products like BlackRock's IBIT and Fidelity's FBTC recording net inflows again, indicating institutional capital is returning. Meanwhile, on-chain data shows that large holder addresses, after a period of sustained selling for about 60 days, have begun accumulating again, providing support on the spot side for price stabilization and creating conditions for the subsequent squeeze on leveraged shorts.
Reason Four: Concentrated liquidation of leveraged shorts creates a typical "short squeeze" scenario. Looking at derivatives data, the scale of short liquidations during this rally far exceeded long liquidations. According to Coinglass data, as of publication time, total 24-hour liquidations across all exchanges have expanded to $2.98 billion, with over 170,000 traders liquidated, the vast majority being shorts; in a 4-hour window, short liquidations once accounted for up to 93.3% of the total. The largest single liquidation order across all networks appeared on Hyperliquid's BTC-USD contract, amounting to $48.8 million. The forced liquidation of large short positions often creates an instantaneous vacuum of buy orders in the order book, pushing prices to accelerate away from their previous range, thereby triggering more stop-loss orders and forming a positive feedback loop of "longs squeezing shorts."
