After weeks of struggling below $65,000, Bitcoin finally broke the barrier.
Yet, the pace of the upward move was indicative of even more than just breaking out. As the price surged past $70,000, trapped short positions began unwinding, resulting in the largest squeeze since March.
At the time of writing, it stood at $71,900, up 11% in the last 24 hours. The last time it hit this level was in early June.
Later on, short liquidations reached $431 million, with Bybit getting the lion’s share of $193 million despite Binance having considerably deeper trading activity. Trailing closely was Binance with $178 million, while OKX recorded another $60 million.
In fact, liquidation spikes have been relatively subdued since March, making this burst unusually concentrated. Simply, due to this magnitude of liquidations, Bitcoin crossed $65,000 smoothly, as forced closures added market buys into an already rising price.
However, that mechanism also shifts attention toward what happens after the squeeze. With many bearish positions already cleared, holding above $70,000 increasingly depends on fresh demand replacing forced buying.
Otherwise, Bitcoin could struggle to preserve the breakout once liquidation pressure fades.
Bitcoin’s rally extends beyond liquidations
However, it is worth noting that the Regime Score for Bitcoin prior to the rally was fueled by the acceleration in short liquidations.
Two days prior to the surge in short liquidations and when the Regime Score crossed into a positive value, the price of Bitcoin was approximately $63,300.
The strength of the metric increased with each advance in Bitcoin’s price until it approached 60% at approximately $69,500. Prior to the short-liquidation event, the metric had been increasing.
That sequence separates the initial market turn from the leverage that later accelerated it. Rather than marking the starting point, forced closures added momentum once Bitcoin was already advancing.
This makes the Regime Score important beyond the squeeze itself. If it remains positive after liquidation activity cools, the underlying market structure stays supportive.
However, a retracement toward neutral would show that the broader improvement weakened after the leveraged support faded.
Bitcoin rally meets STH selling pressure
Beyond the leverage reset, Bitcoin’s next challenge comes from holders who are back in profit. $BTC’s 7.1% daily gain carried price above the short-term holder cost basis near $67,100 and toward $70,000.
That recovery prompted short-term holders to send 44,300 $BTC in profit to exchanges, their largest transfer of 2026. More importantly, the spike exceeded earlier profit-taking bursts even when Bitcoin traded above $78,000.
Thus, this represents an additional test of strength for the advance, since the buyer base must absorb coins being sold by holders, utilizing the rebound to capture profits.
However, losing that level would show profit-taking is beginning to outweigh buying pressure.
Final Summary
- Bitcoin [$BTC] broke past $70K as liquidations accelerated its move.
- $BTC faces 44,300 $BTC in STH profit-taking, putting $67.1K support in focus.