Bitcoin's push toward $80,000 triggered a record $3.07 billion single-day short squeeze, and the pullback that followed is stabilizing near $77,000. Spot Bitcoin ETFs still drew $1.92 billion in weekly inflows, and the recovery is also lifting miner economics.
Bitcoin erased earlier losses on Sunday, trading up 0.3% at $77,307.0 as of 11:12 ET. The move followed a pullback from Friday, when the cryptocurrency reached $79,461 before retreating.
A record short squeeze
The rally traced back to one of the market's largest short squeezes on record. On August 20, $3.07 billion in crypto short positions were liquidated, according to CoinGlass data reported by NFT Evening — the highest single-day figure the platform has recorded for short positions. Liquidation pressure had already built a day earlier, when Bitcoin broke above $68,000 and total 24-hour liquidations reached about $1.57 billion.
Buying pressure was not limited to forced short covers, however. US spot Bitcoin ETFs drew roughly $1.92 billion in net inflows across five sessions during the week of August 17-21, according to Farside Investors. BlackRock's IBIT alone absorbed about $503 million on August 20, accounting for the vast majority of that day's $606.3 million net inflow.
Miners and the macro backdrop
The recovery has also boosted mining economics. Bitcoin's hashprice climbed 20.4% over four days to $38.29 per petahash per second by Saturday, up from $31.80 on August 18, Bitcoin.com reported. Grayscale head of research Zach Pandl said continued adoption, a bear market about 10 months old, and a broadly supportive macro outlook may support long-term buyers.
Separately, the US Treasury expanded bond buybacks for 10-to-30-year debt to at least $4 billion per session, from about $2 billion previously, a signal that added support for risk assets during a stretch of elevated long-term yields.
Interest rates remain the main risk to the outlook. The Federal Reserve held its policy rate at 3.5% to 3.75% in July, though three officials favored an increase, and a future hike could pressure non-yielding assets like Bitcoin.
Sources: Investing.com, NFT Evening
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