Bitcoin surges toward $70,000, and the market liquidates short sellers: key events of the night
Last night proved to be a landmark one for the crypto market. Bitcoin made a sharp surge from $64,000 to the $70,000 mark, triggering a massive wave of short position liquidations. Against this backdrop, key altcoins showed double-digit gains, while institutional investors actively ramped up their investments in spot ETFs.
Market Leaders' Dynamics
As of 09:05 Moscow time, the leading cryptocurrency was trading near $69,329, up 8.09% over the past 24 hours. At one point, quotes reached the $70,000 level before correcting. Ethereum demonstrated even more impressive dynamics: over the day, the asset rose by 17.42%, climbing from $1,900 to $2,280.
In the top 20 by market capitalization, almost all assets turned green. The best result was shown by Hyperliquid (HYPE) with a gain of 22.25%, followed by Solana (SOL) with an increase of 10.53% and XRP with 10.41%. Dogecoin (DOGE) strengthened by 6.80%. In the top 100, the leader was Lighter (LIT) with a rise of 24.12%, followed by HYPE, Official Trump (TRUMP), Ethereum, Aerodrome Finance (AERO), and Arbitrum (ARB). Only a handful of tokens were in the red, including STABLE (-3.84%) and JUST (-1.49%).
Capital Inflows and Liquidations
Spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted $517.19 million in a single day, Ethereum funds — $189.15 million, and XRP products — $2.35 million. This is a clear signal of the return of institutional risk appetite. However, the flip side of the rally was a series of liquidations: over the past 24 hours, positions worth $2.99 billion were closed, of which $2.74 billion were shorts. The largest liquidation order was recorded on Hyperliquid for the BTC-USD pair — $48.80 million.
The trigger for the move was the minutes from the July FOMC meeting, as well as statements by US President Donald Trump regarding Bitcoin and HYPE. The market perceived this as a signal for a reversal, and capital flooded into risk assets.
Regulatory and Corporate Events
In parallel, BitGo became the first foreign crypto company to receive a VASP license in South Korea directly, without acquiring a local player. This is a precedent that could simplify the entry of other international platforms into the Korean market. At the same time, the OKX exchange restricted its employees in Hong Kong from accessing Anthropic's AI model Claude due to non-compliance with regional rules. The exchange itself spends between $6 and $8 million monthly on AI but is forced to adapt to the restrictions.
The Fed minutes confirmed that inflation risks remain above the 2% target. Some committee members advocated for a 0.25 percentage point rate hike, and the regulator separately warned of risks to financial stability due to the overvaluation of the AI sector and rising leverage.
My view: The overnight rally is a classic short-squeeze scenario, but the ETF inflows and Trump's positive rhetoric point to the formation of a sustainable uptrend. However, do not forget about the risks: the Fed is clearly concerned about overheating, and any hawkish surprise could quickly cool the fervor. Watch the $70,000 and $72,000 levels — their breakout will open the path to new highs.