Bitcoin briefly touched $80,594 early Monday, its highest print since January 31, before pulling back to trade around $79,851 at the time of writing. The move triggered $370 million in total crypto liquidations over the past 24 hours, affecting 97,235 traders, according to CoinGlass data. Of that total, $301.93 million came from short positions.

Market Context

Shorts were liquidated roughly four times as much as longs, indicating that bearish positioning was dominant heading into the move. The squeeze forced bears to unwind positions at a loss as the rally caught them offside. Bitcoin alone accounted for $179 million of the wipeout, with ether traders contributing $95 million. The single-largest liquidation was an $11.77 million ETH/USDT short on Binance.

This marks the second major short squeeze in two weeks. A similar setup on April 18 wiped out $593 million in shorts as bitcoin pushed past $77,000 following reports of an Iran ceasefire, suggesting a structural pattern emerging in crypto markets.

Broader market action supported the move. Ether climbed 2.3% to $2,368 and is up 2.2% on the week. XRP gained 2.1% to $1.42. BNB added 1.9% to $630. Solana rose 1.4% to $85.14. Dogecoin remains the standout performer, up 3.5% on the day and 14.3% on the week to $0.1119, extending its breakout that started last week alongside year-high open interest in DOGE futures.

Analysis

Funding rates on bitcoin perpetuals have been pinned negative for most of April, meaning shorts were paying longs to stay short, and each time price pushes higher, the same trade unwinds violently. The pattern is becoming increasingly predictable as traders continue positioning bearish heading into what has become a sustained grind higher.

Net inflows into U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs reached $153.9 million last week, per SoSoValue data. April pulled in $1.97 billion across products, the highest monthly total since October 2025. Meanwhile, ether ETFs saw $82.5 million in net outflows, ending a three-week inflow streak.

FxPro analysts noted that bitcoin needs to consolidate above $85,000 to confirm the breakout: "The rising price and the downward-sloping 200-day moving average are actively converging with an important long-term trend line at $83,600. Consolidation above this level could further encourage traders, but we would prefer to see consolidation above $85,000 first."

Privacy-focused Zcash (ZEC), smart contract platform ether, and market leader bitcoin are the biggest open interest gainers over the past 24 hours, pointing to a broad pickup in derivatives activity. Bitcoin's futures open interest climbed to 763,350 BTC from a May 1 low of 707,240 BTC. Ethereum's futures OI rose to 14.17 million ETH, the highest since April 18.

Not all markets look balanced. Privacy coin Monero (XMR) shows signs of overcrowded bullish positioning with funding rates surging above 60%, raising long squeeze risk if momentum stalls.

Key Numbers

- $370 million in total crypto liquidations over 24 hours

- $301.93 million from short positions (roughly 4x the long liquidation amount)

- $179 million in bitcoin liquidations; $95 million in ether liquidations

- $11.77 million largest single liquidation (ETH/USDT short on Binance)

- Bitcoin futures open interest: 763,350 BTC (up from 707,240 BTC on May 1)

- Ethereum futures OI: 14.17 million ETH (highest since April 18)

- U.S. spot bitcoin ETF inflows: $153.9 million weekly; $1.97 billion in April

What to Watch

The $85,000 level remains the key technical threshold for bitcoin bulls to confirm the breakout, per FxPro analysts. The convergence of price with the 200-day moving average and a long-term trend line at $83,600 represents the next resistance zone.

Ethereum's volatility index (EVIV) is approaching the 55% level, which has acted as a floor multiple times since 2024—making it a key level to watch for potential volatility pickup. Options markets are signaling relative calm with subdued implied volatility for both bitcoin and ether over the past month.

Ondo Finance's ONDO token is leading RWA sector gains, up 11% in 24 hours after breaking above its reported 90-day trading range following the CLARITY Act yield compromise that boosted regulatory clarity hopes around tokenized real-world assets.