Bitcoin’s gains have brought a lot of pain for those who were betting against it. Bitcoin’s push back toward the high $70,000 range has looked impressive on screen, but the real story is the carnage underneath it – roughly $826 million in crypto liquidations in 24 hours, with short positions taking the worst of it and BTC accounting for the biggest share of the damage, according to CoinGlass data.

That matters because this was not just a casual bounce. Reports also pointed to a large BTC short liquidation around $15.75 million on Hyperliquid, which is the kind of forced unwind that can extend a move far beyond the original catalyst.

When BTC starts squeezing shorts this hard, traders usually get one of two outcomes – follow-through into a real trend or a fast mean-reversion once the forced buying dries up.

What to Watch For…

The key question now is whether spot demand can actually support price after the derivatives flush. One analysis noted that Bitcoin briefly pushed above $75,000, but weak spot buying capped the move, which is exactly the sort of detail that matters when the market is leaning on leverage rather than conviction. If spot buyers stay lazy, the market can give back gains just as quickly as it made them.

For traders, this is the kind of tape that rewards discipline more than heroics. Liquidations can create momentum, but they can also expose how thin the bid really is once the forced orders clear.

—————

Author: Rowan Marrow
Seattle Newsroom

---

Filed under: News - @ April 18, 2026 4:26 pm