Bitcoin successfully liquidated $60 million worth of short positions in just two days, as BTC price surged to within a few hundred dollars of $40,000, thwarting the efforts of sellers.
Bitcoin held closer to the $40,000 mark on Dec. 3 after weekend gains reinforced a “strong” uptrend.
Bitcoin leaves $60 million in shorts hanging
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView recorded a fresh surge in the price of Bitcoin (BTC), pushing BTC/USD to new highs for 2023 at $39,730.
This recent increase in price followed a positive momentum that had started in the preceding days when Bitcoin reached $39,000, a level not seen since mid-2022.
As the Wall Street trading week concluded with derivatives activity, experts had suggested that spot buyers needed to play a role in sustaining the upward momentum. However, an unexpected surge occurred across Bitcoin and alternative cryptocurrencies, surpassing previous resistance levels.
In coverage on X (formerly Twitter), popular trader Skew proposed that “someone just ran all shorts across the board seemingly on most pairs.”
This development raised questions about BTC price behavior concerning the weekly open, particularly with CME Bitcoin futures closing the week at $39,225, leaving a gap between that and the spot price, which would typically be “filled” with a dip.
Analyzing the current situation, fellow trader Daan Crypto Trades predicted a different outcome this time. “Whenever $BTC is in a strong trend (up or down) and especially when it’s trading at yearly highs or price discovery. You tend to have these weekend moves that break out and leave a lot of people behind. Often creating a gap that never gets closed or not until weeks later,” explained part of an X post.
“During strong trending environments, trading the CME price doesn’t have a very strong edge anymore. It’s amazing during sideways chop but not like this.”
Daan Crypto Trades concurred that the region around the Friday closing price presented an opportunity to “trap” those shorting the market.
“Due to me thinking it was pretty likely to see a big move occur during the weekend, I did not share the usual CME chart. So far, the suspicion was correct, and people trying to short this move would have been rekt,” he explained.
Statistics from CoinGlass indicated that approximately $30 million worth of Bitcoin shorts were liquidated on both December 1 and December 2.
BTC price in “all-the-way-UP mode”
As the possibility of reaching $40,000 became imminent, market participants shifted their focus to bullish signals on longer timeframes. According to popular Twitter commentator Alan Tardigrade, BTC/USD had successfully broken out of a downward channel that had been in place since its all-time high of $69,000 in November 2021.
“Bitcoin has entered All-the-way-UP mode,” he remarked on a chart illustrating how recent BTC price action had decisively departed from the previous downward trend.
BitQuant, another commentator recognized for expressing bullish views on Bitcoin in the present market conditions, anticipated a return to previous highs before the possibility of “some correction” taking place.
#Bitcoin has entered All-the-way-UP mode. pic.twitter.com/wYPxPe8NJ7
— Trader Tardigrade (@TATrader_Alan) December 3, 2023
Both commentators’ perspectives drew parallels with behavior observed in previous Bitcoin bull markets. Notably, in September, BitQuant made a bold prediction that BTC/USD would surpass its record highs before the next block subsidy halving in April 2024 — a forecast just four months away.
Also read: $36.8 million is lost by traders as Bitcoin begins December strongly.