Bitcoin climbed from around $64,300 to $68,700 within approximately one hour. The sudden move caught traders betting on lower prices off guard. More than $70 million in short positions were liquidated during the period.
Bitcoin traded near $68,450 as of 6:45 p.m. Türkiye time on August 19. The cryptocurrency reached an intraday high of $68,776.
BTC’s 24-hour gain reached 5.6%. However, most of the increase occurred within the previous hour. Bitcoin had traded sideways near $64,000 earlier in the day.
Short liquidations exceed $70 million in one hour
Market data showed that leveraged cryptocurrency positions worth $71.99 million were liquidated in the past hour. Short positions accounted for $70.18 million of that amount.
Long liquidations remained at just $1.81 million. Therefore, traders betting on lower prices represented approximately 97.5% of all liquidations during the period.
Four-hour liquidations climbed to $116.06 million. Short positions accounted for $94.39 million of the total. Over the past 24 hours, exchanges closed $139.52 million in leveraged positions.
The liquidations affected 22,260 trader accounts. The largest individual liquidation occurred on OKX and involved a Bitcoin position worth $4.07 million.
The automatic closure of short positions can create additional buying pressure. As prices rise, they can reach new liquidation levels and trigger further forced purchases. This process can accelerate a rally within a short period.
Ethereum outperforms Bitcoin during the rally
The Bitcoin rally quickly spread across the altcoin market. Ethereum gained 8.6% and reached $2,082.
Solana rose 6.6% to $82.09, while XRP gained 6.5% to trade at $1.068. Dogecoin advanced 4.2%, BNB gained 2.6% and SUI climbed 6.2%.
The total cryptocurrency market capitalization reached $2.31 trillion. Market data showed that the figure increased by 4.38% over the past 24 hours.
Daily cryptocurrency trading volume also rose 18.3% to $61.5 billion. Bitcoin’s market dominance reached 59.28%.
Why did Bitcoin rise?
No single confirmed announcement has emerged as the immediate trigger for the sudden rally. The move came as expectations surrounding cryptocurrency regulation in the United States improved.
Reuters reported that the White House was hosting executives from the cryptocurrency and prediction market industries on August 19. SEC Chair Paul Atkins, CFTC Chair Michael Selig and White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt were expected to attend.
The SEC also published a new regulatory proposal covering token sales. The proposal could exempt certain token offerings from securities registration requirements.
Markets will also follow the Federal Reserve minutes scheduled for release at 9:00 p.m. Türkiye time. A more hawkish message on the interest rate outlook could increase volatility following the rally.
Whether Bitcoin can remain above $68,000 will be important for its short-term direction. The liquidation-driven rally will require continued spot-market buying volume to sustain its momentum.
