Bitcoin shorts scramble for the exits as BTC climbs
TL;DR
Bitcoin surged to $90,000, triggering over $110 million in short liquidations. The rally appears driven by spot buying rather than leverage, with aggressive buying pressure and a breakdown of traditional cycles signaling a prolonged bull market.
Key Takeaways
- •Over $110 million in Bitcoin short positions were liquidated during the price surge to $90,000.
- •The rally was driven by spot market demand rather than leveraged futures, indicated by muted open interest changes.
- •Bitcoin's cumulative volume delta jumped 1,100%, showing aggressive buying pressure not seen since early December.
- •Analyst Julien Bittel argues the traditional 4-year cycle has broken down and an oversold RSI supports an extended bull market into 2026.
- •Bitcoin dominance climbed toward 60% while altcoins lagged, and Wednesday has historically been Bitcoin's strongest weekday.

What to know:
- Over $110 million in bitcoin short positions were liquidated in the past hour, according to Coinglass alongside a muted rise in open interest
- The action points to spot-driven demand rather than leveraged bets driving BTC's surge to $90,000.
- Bitcoin’s cumulative volume delta jumped 1,100% during the rally, signaling aggressive buying pressure not seen since early December.
- Global Macro Investor’s Julien Bittel says an "oversold" RSI reading supports a prolonged bull market, arguing the traditional four-year cycle has broken down as bitcoin dominance climbs toward 60%.
- Over $110 million in bitcoin short positions were liquidated in the past hour, according to Coinglass alongside a muted rise in open interest
- The action points to spot-driven demand rather than leveraged bets driving BTC's surge to $90,000.
- Bitcoin’s cumulative volume delta jumped 1,100% during the rally, signaling aggressive buying pressure not seen since early December.
- Global Macro Investor’s Julien Bittel says an "oversold" RSI reading supports a prolonged bull market, arguing the traditional four-year cycle has broken down as bitcoin dominance climbs toward 60%.
More than $110 million in bitcoin BTC$86,954.12 short positions were liquidated as the price of largest cryptocurrency climbed to $90,000 from an intraday low of $86,200 on Wednesday.
Coinglass data shows the short positions were liquidated in the past hour, with the majority occurring on bitcoin trading pairs.
The price surge also coincided with a relatively subdued drop in futures open interest, suggesting that those in short positions either covered their positions buying spot, as opposed to leveraged products, to minimize risk or were liquidated.
Bitcoin's cumulative volume delta (CVD) rose by 1,100% during the spike, indicating that aggressive buyers are overpowering sellers. That's behavior not seen since Dec. 1.
Altcoins lagged bitcoin's move for the most part as bitcoin dominance climbed back towards 60%, a far cry from September when it reached as low as 56.7%.
Over the past year, Wednesday has been the strongest performing weekday for bitcoin, data from Velo shows.
Oversold RSI signals an extended bitcoin bull market
Julien Bittel, the head of macro research at Global Macro Investor argues that bitcoin's recent price action is consistent with historical recoveries following "oversold" RSI readings, with the latest RSI breaking below 30 which occurred in September 2025.
Bittel said the traditional four year cycle is no longer valid, not because of the halving, but due to shifts in debt refinancing, longer term maturities and liquidity dynamics. The current bull market will extend into 2026, Bittel said.
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