Short squeeze drives bitcoin toward $85,000 as $648 million shorts liquidated

Key Points:

• Bitcoin surged to nearly $85,000, up 4.7% since midnight UTC, driven largely by a short squeeze that liquidated $648 million in bearish bets within 24 hours, including $160 million in the past hour alone.
• Despite significant short position liquidations, open interest in Bitcoin futures rose 7.59% to $156 billion, indicating traders are actively replacing positions and chasing the rally rather than retreating.
• Market data shows a bullish shift with the taker long-short volume ratio favoring buyers at 53%, increased Bitcoin futures open interest surpassing 700K BTC, and large whale accounts holding leveraged long positions anticipating further upside.
• Other tokens like CRO saw record futures open interest but face risks from overcrowded long positions as indicated by high annualized perpetual funding rates near 60%, signaling potential volatility ahead.
• Altcoins such as Sui, Dogecoin, and Avalanche also experienced notable gains with rising open interest, while artificial intelligence-related tokens led the rally, reflecting shifting investor interest within the crypto market.