Image Credit: Shutterstock
Key Takeaways
- A short squeeze drove Bitcoin toward $61,360, with Ether up 9.7% and Solana up 18.6% on the week.
- Nearly $281 million in short positions were liquidated over 24 hours, almost double the losses on the long side.
- Weak U.S. jobs data trimmed rate-hike expectations, weakening the dollar and supporting crypto and gold prices.
Ether and Solana led crypto markets higher on Friday as a squeeze on bearish traders pushed Bitcoin toward $62,000, capping one of the stronger weeks for crypto markets in recent months. Nearly $281 million in short positions were liquidated over 24 hours, almost double the losses on the long side, as forced buying accelerated the rally.
A Broad Rally Across Majors
Bitcoin traded around $61,360, up 2.5% over the past seven days, as a squeeze on short sellers helped drive prices higher. Ether outpaced the broader market, rising 4.2% over 24 hours to about $1,702 and gaining 9.7% on the week. Solana was the standout performer among major tokens, holding near $80 after a weekly advance of 18.6%.
Other large-cap tokens joined the advance. XRP added 5.7% over the week to reach $1.09, while Hyperliquid’s HYPE token rose 5.1% on the day, extending the rally across a wider set of assets beyond Bitcoin and Ether alone.
Short Sellers Take the Bigger Hit
Traders betting against crypto lost $281 million to liquidations over the past 24 hours, compared with $159 million in liquidated long positions, according to data from Coinglass. Total forced closures across the market reached $440 million, affecting 95,690 traders.
When large numbers of short positions are forced to close, traders buy back the underlying asset to cover their bets, and that buying pushes prices into the next cluster of stop levels. The mechanism is what typically turns a modest bounce into a sharper squeeze.
The largest single liquidation was an $18.2 million Ether position on Hyperliquid. Ether led the damage to bears overall, with $157 million in wiped-out short positions, ahead of Bitcoin’s $103 million, an unusual reversal from Bitcoin’s typical role as the largest source of liquidations during rallies.
Weak Jobs Data Shifts the Macro Backdrop
U.S. employment data released Thursday came in weaker than expected, with June payrolls adding just 57,000 jobs. The soft print trimmed bets that the Federal Reserve will raise rates again and weakened the dollar against most major currencies.
Softer hiring adds to expectations that the Federal Reserve will hold off on further rate increases, a policy stance that has weighed on crypto since the Fed’s hawkish outlook in June. Gold extended its rally for a third straight day as rate-hike expectations faded.
Tech Stocks Steady as Chip Concerns Ease
Asian equities rallied following two days of tech-led losses. South Korea’s Kospi index climbed 3% after flirting with a technical bear market earlier in the week.
Samsung Electronics rose 6.8% after a report, citing people familiar with the discussions, said AI company Anthropic has held preliminary talks with the Korean chipmaker about manufacturing a custom AI chip. The talks remain early-stage, with no manufacturing agreement or chip specifications finalized. The talks add to signs that AI infrastructure spending has continued, even as investors debate its pace.
A stabilizing AI trade could ease some of the pressure from capital rotating away from crypto markets, though it may also renew competition for investor flows similar to earlier in the year.
Conditions That Could Limit the Rally
Forced short-covering tends to produce fast price moves rather than durable demand. U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds are still working through a record streak of monthly outflows, and the market enters the third quarter with thinner liquidity, a condition that can amplify moves in either direction.
