The bears have once again misjudged the market. Bitcoin (BTC) briefly reached $80,754.29, peaking at $80,594 early Monday, its highest level since January 31, before retreating to trade around $79,851. This move triggered a total of $370 million in crypto liquidations over the past 24 hours, impacting 97,235 traders, according to CoinGlass data. Of this total, $301.93 million stemmed from short positions.
Shorts were liquidated roughly four times as much as longs, indicating that bearish positioning was dominant going into the move, forcing them to unwind positions at a loss as the rally took hold. Bitcoin accounted for $179 million of the losses, while ether traders contributed $95 million.
The largest single liquidation was an $11.77 million ETH/USDT short on Binance. This is the second such incident in two weeks, following a similar setup on April 18 that wiped out $593 million in shorts as bitcoin pushed past $77,000.
The pattern is starting to look structural, with funding rates on bitcoin perpetuals pinned negative for most of April, meaning shorts have been paying longs to stay short, and each time the price surges, the same trade unwinds violently. Other major cryptocurrencies also saw gains, with ether climbing 2.3% to $2,368, XRP gaining 2.1% to $1.42, BNB adding 1.9% to $630, and Solana rising 1.4% to $85.14. Dogecoin remains a standout performer, up 3.5% on the day and 14.3% on the week to $0.1119, extending its breakout.
Net inflows into U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs reached $153.9 million last week, with April pulling in $1.97 billion, the highest monthly total since October 2025. Ether ETFs saw net outflows of $82.5 million, ending a three-week inflow streak. Analysts at FxPro noted that bitcoin needs to consolidate above $85,000 to confirm the breakout, adding that consolidation above this level could further encourage traders.