Bitcoin bears suffered a devastating blow on Wednesday as the cryptocurrency staged a violent V-shaped recovery, surging nearly 8% to reclaim the $69,500 level and triggering a massive short squeeze across global exchanges.
After weeks of downward pressure that saw Bitcoin briefly lose the critical $63,000 support zone, the market reversed course with ferocity.
Data reveals that over $330 million in total positions were liquidated in the last 24 hours, with the overwhelming majority of the carnage falling on traders betting on lower prices.
The short squeeze
The recovery caught late sellers off guard, resulting in a cascade of forced buy-backs.
According to liquidation data, the market witnessed a “4-hour Rekt” event where $247.98 million in short positions were wiped out, compared to just $11.17 million in longs.
Bitcoin climbed from its 24-hour low of $63,894 to a high of $69,483, short sellers, and were forced to close their positions, adding fuel to the rally.
In the 12-hour window alone, $321.15 million in shorts were liquidated, signaling a complete capitulation of the bearish momentum that had dominated February.
Dissecting the bounce
Market analysts are pointing to the strength of the reversal as a potential signal that a local bottom is in. Trader and analyst Justin Spittler highlighted the technical significance of the move on X (formerly Twitter).
“$BTC strong today. +8% on the day,” Spittler noted. “Never retested recent lows.”
Spittler also drew a correlation between Bitcoin’s price action and the broader tech sector, specifically software stocks ($IGV).
“More reason to believe software is bottomed out,” Spittler wrote. “$IGV and BTC are highly correlated.”