Bitcoin climbs to $85,000 as short squeeze wipes out $648 million of bearish bets

Bitcoin broke the $85,000 level, trading at $84,984 in the late European morning, a 5.4% gain over the previous 24 hours. The rally was driven primarily by forced buying as short positions were liquidated.

Short squeeze and liquidations

Coinglass data show $746 million of positions were liquidated in the last 24 hours, of which $647.9 million were short bets. In the most recent hour, $159.9 million of liquidations occurred, 95% on the short side.

Open interest and market participation

Despite the short‑position closures, total market open interest rose 7.59% to $156 billion. 24‑hour futures volume increased 39% to $224 billion, suggesting that traders are opening new positions to replace the liquidated shorts.

Derivatives positioning

• Long‑short volume ratio in crypto futures tilted to roughly 53% in favor of longs.
• Bitcoin futures open interest surpassed 700 k BTC for the first time in weeks.
• Binance whale accounts show a near‑even long/short ratio, while overall whale derivatives exposure remains above 2.0, indicating leveraged long bias.
• Annualized perpetual funding rates approached 60%, highlighting crowded long positions and potential volatility.

Broader market context

95 of the 100 CoinDesk 100 constituents posted gains, lifting the index 3.0%. Macro indicators were stable, with Brent crude at $101.97 and gold at $4,350.

Notable token activity

• Sui (SUI) rose 12.3% to $0.9974, with futures open interest up 28.9% to $402 million.
• Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET) gained 8.9% to $0.1911.
• Aave (AAVE) increased 7.0% to $147.26.
• Dogecoin (DOGE) climbed 10.2% to $0.0939, open interest up 15%.