Bitcoin ripped through $62,000 in early July, and traders betting against the move got absolutely torched. The rally triggered over $100 million in Bitcoin liquidations, with the vast majority coming from short positions that were caught on the wrong side of a swift move higher.
The squeeze and its fallout
According to CoinGlass data, Bitcoin’s push above $62,000 on July 2-3 wasn’t just painful for Bitcoin bears. Total crypto short liquidations across multiple tokens approached roughly $450-500 million within a 24-hour window.
In English: traders who borrowed money to bet Bitcoin would go down were forced to buy Bitcoin to cover their positions, which pushed the price even higher, which liquidated more shorts, which pushed the price higher still.
The $62,000 level had been acting as a ceiling for weeks. When price finally broke through it, the concentration of short positions sitting just above that level became fuel for the move.
