$468M Short Liquidation Sparks Bitcoin Rebound Above $80K: Can Bulls Push Higher?

Bitcoin has regained the $80,000 mark for the first time since the October 29 Binance hack, reflecting a recovery in broader cryptocurrency market sentiment. The latest rally on Wednesday, November 4, triggered a powerful short squeeze, wiping out roughly $468.5 million in bearish futures positions.

Buying pressure intensified after U.S. stock markets opened, forcing traders with leveraged short positions to close their bets by purchasing back their contracts. Bitcoin climbed to approximately $80,550, recording a 2.7% increase over 24 hours. Ethereum posted stronger gains, advancing 4.4% to trade near $2,427.

The Bitcoin rally developed through two consecutive upward moves. BTC was trading at $78,321 around 14:30 UTC as the New York session began. Within 15 minutes, the price had reached $79,559 before accelerating to $81,196 by 15:15 UTC. Earlier, Bitcoin had touched an intraday low of $75,736, representing a price recovery of more than 7% from that level.

The liquidation figures indicate that traders anticipating further downside suffered the heaviest losses. Nevertheless, short-squeeze rallies can quickly lose momentum when forced buying comes to an end. Continued participation from spot market buyers will be necessary to support Bitcoin’s upward trajectory.

Bitcoin Short Liquidations Reach $468.5 Million

Data from CoinGlass shows that total liquidations across cryptocurrency futures markets reached $715.6 million within 24 hours. Short positions represented approximately 65.5% of the total, or $468.5 million. Nearly 99,879 traders were liquidated during the period.

Bitcoin led the market in liquidation volume, recording $267.1 million in forced position closures. Of this amount, short positions accounted for 93.4%, indicating that bearish traders were particularly vulnerable to the sudden upward price movement.

Ethereum followed with $197.5 million in liquidations, with short positions contributing 58.1%. Binance recorded the largest share among exchanges, accounting for 39.3% of all cryptocurrency liquidations.

The biggest individual liquidation involved an Ethereum long position worth $38 million on HTX. The position was closed at $2,429.33, close to ETH’s prevailing market price.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin futures data points to a reduction in leveraged market exposure during the recovery. Open interest in BTC futures on OKX climbed to $3.88 billion before retreating to $3.74 billion by midnight UTC. The decline suggests traders were closing existing contracts rather than establishing a substantial number of new positions.

Market positioning also remains relatively defensive despite Bitcoin’s gains. The OKX account-based long-to-short ratio for BTC fell from 1.84 at 11:00 UTC on Wednesday to 1.52 by Thursday morning. This indicates that bearish positioning increased relative to bullish positioning even as prices recovered.

Bitcoin Price Analysis: Will BTC Recover Its Pre-Hack Losses?

Bitcoin is trading around two important technical levels, with its 20-day exponential moving average (EMA) positioned at $80,006 and its 50-day EMA at $80,166. The convergence of these indicators around $80,000 makes the area an important battleground for buyers and sellers.

Beyond this zone, Bitcoin faces its next major resistance near $81,971, the approximate price level before the October 29 Binance hack triggered widespread selling. Breaking above this threshold and maintaining the gains could signal a full recovery from the hack-related decline.

Options market data, however, points to relatively subdued expectations for future price swings. Deribit’s DVOL index, which measures anticipated Bitcoin volatility over the next 30 days, declined to 36.9 from 38 on Wednesday.

Bitcoin’s ability to extend its recovery will depend largely on whether spot investors continue purchasing BTC after the liquidation-driven rally loses momentum. Consistent demand could help the cryptocurrency hold above $80,000 and mount another attempt to reclaim its pre-hack price near $81,971.

On the other hand, weakening spot demand could leave the rally vulnerable to a reversal. Without fresh buying pressure, the latest gains may represent little more than a temporary short-covering event rather than the beginning of a sustained bullish recovery.