Bitcoin surged 22.9% since August 17, climbing from $62,900 to $77,306 amid heavy buying pressure and massive short liquidations. Data shows $2.739 billion in short liquidations on August 19 and another $1.265 billion wave on August 21—the two biggest such events in 2026. Cumulative short liquidations on Binance overtook cumulative long liquidations for the first time since October 2025. Analysts debate whether this explosive rally signals a trend transition or if bear market conditions persist, with key resistance at the 78.6% Fibonacci level near $77,462 and a swing high at $82,800.
Bitcoin rallied 22.9% since Monday, August 17, moving from $62,900 to trade at $77,306 at the time of writing. According to CoinGlass data, the crypto market witnessed $2.739 billion in short liquidations on August 19, followed by another $1.265 billion liquidation wave on August 21 — the two biggest short liquidations in 2026.
The week of relentless rally saw cumulative short liquidations on Binance overtake cumulative long liquidations for the first time since the October 2025 short squeeze. Analyst Boris noted that cumulative short liquidations measured $7.739 billion, surpassing the $7.582 billion for the longs.
The pace of the rally has caught the market unawares and punished the bears. Veteran trader Killa stated that short positions have been completely obliterated, an outcome that generally does not accompany bear market conditions. Instead, an explosive rally that violently squeezes short positions marks a trend transition, the trader argued.
The 1-day timeframe revealed that the bearish swing structure was still in place. Fibonacci levels highlighted the 78.6% retracement level at $77,462 as a key supply zone, with another critical level at the swing high of $82,800.
Only time will tell if the market bottom has been seen and a trend transition is already underway. For traders and investors, risk management is of utmost importance now.
