Bitcoin Price Suddenly Rockets Past $80K Leaving $180M in Shorts Liquidated

The move was rather unexpected given the recent macro and industry developments.

Just a few days after receiving major blows from the US Federal Reserve and the Senate, bitcoin’s price suddenly skyrocketed by a few grand and topped $80,000 for the first time in over ten days.

The altcoins have followed suit, with ETH surging past $2,550, while XRP has rocketed to over $1.35. Naturally, the liquidations are on the rise.

Recall that the primary cryptocurrency slumped to $75,000 on Tuesday evening after the CLARITY Act setback in the US Senate. Although the asset defended that zone, more volatility ensued a day later when the Fed hiked rates for the first time since July 2023.

However, BTC rebounded almost immediately after the initial shock and went past $76,000. It kept fluctuating in the following days, but the bulls appeared to be in control. Today’s decision by the Bank of Japan to increase the rates to a 31-year high was well received by the cryptocurrency, which jumped to just over $78,000.

It remained there for hours before it went on the offensive minutes ago, skyrocketing to over $80,000. This level was last breached on September 7.

Most altcoins have marked substantial 2-3% gains over the past hours as well. Ethereum has seemingly reclaimed the $2,550 level after a 2.3% hourly jump, while XRP is above $1.35 after a 3% increase. SOL and BNB have marked slightly more modest gains.

Data from CoinGlass shows that $192 million worth of over-leveraged positions were wrecked in the past hour, with shorts responsible for more than $183 million. BTC holds the lion’s share ($119 million), followed by ETH ($36 million).

On a daily scale, the numbers are even higher, with $450 million wrecked. $390 million was from shorts. In total, more than 100,000 traders have been wiped out within this timeframe.