--- title: "Bitcoin Shorts Squeezed for Over $1 Billion in One Hour, Marking Largest Wave of Position Closures Since 2021" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/296460766.md" description: "On August 20, Bitcoin broke through the $70,000 mark to hit a new high since June, triggering massive short squeezes. Within approximately one hour, over $1 billion in short positions were subject to forced liquidation, representing the largest wave of compulsory liquidations since 2021. This market move was primarily driven by passive buying from stop orders triggered by shorts, further supported by macroeconomic tailwinds such as Trump's meeting with crypto executives and the U.S. Treasury's expansion of Treasury bond repurchases. Additionally, large holders have recently net accumulated approximately 43,000 Bitcoins, indicating a reversal in the selling trend" datetime: "2026-08-20T08:53:21.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/296460766.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296460766.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/296460766.md) --- # Bitcoin Shorts Squeezed for Over $1 Billion in One Hour, Marking Largest Wave of Position Closures Since 2021 The Bitcoin market experienced a sharp rebound, triggering concentrated liquidations of large-scale short positions. On August 20, Bitcoin surpassed $70,000, reaching its highest level since June 2. As prices rose rapidly, a significant volume of previously accumulated short positions faced concentrated liquidation. **In just about one hour, over $1 billion in short positions were subject to forced liquidation, marking a rare scale of Bitcoin short compulsory liquidations not seen since 2021.** The core driver of this rally was not merely new buying interest, but rather the concentrated exit of previously accumulated short positions through stop orders as prices surged, creating significant passive buying pressure that further amplified the gains. Meanwhile, news such as Trump's meeting with crypto industry executives and the U.S. Treasury's expansion of Treasury bond repurchase scales also provided support for risk asset sentiment. Notably, on-chain capital flows have also shifted recently. According to data from CryptoQuant, **as of August 19, large holders had net accumulated approximately 43,000 Bitcoins over the past 60 days, valued at roughly $2.75 billion at current prices.** This trend began when Bitcoin fell to near the $60,000 level, signaling a reversal in the selling pressure that had persisted for several months. ## Over $1 Billion in Shorts Liquidated Within One Hour According to data from the crypto data platform CoinGlass, more than $1 billion in Bitcoin short positions were subject to forced liquidation in just about one hour. Previously, Bitcoin underwent several weeks of adjustment and repeatedly found support near the $60,000 level, leading to a continuous accumulation of short positions in the market. **When prices suddenly broke out upward, leveraged shorts faced margin calls or stop-loss pressure, forcing them to buy Bitcoin to close their positions, which further pushed up prices and formed a typical "squeezed" market scenario.** Joshua Lim, Co-Head of Markets at FalconX, stated that while crypto trading desks and headlines had been dominated by selling pressure in recent weeks, Bitcoin consistently held the level near $60,000, after which market sentiment and narratives shifted. **Axel Rudolph, Chief Technical Analyst at IG, pointed out that this rapid rise toward the $70,000 level was mainly driven by short covering, reflecting a recovery in buyer confidence.** ## Policy and Macro News Simultaneously Improve Risk Appetite On the news front, Trump met with executives from crypto industry firms such as Coinbase Global, Payward, and Blockchain at the White House, further intensifying market focus on the regulatory environment for digital assets in the United States. Meanwhile, **the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission proposed this week to exempt certain digital asset issuance projects from securities registration filing requirements. Trump had also previously stated that he would consider recommendations from regulators for the government to further increase its Bitcoin holdings.** On the macroeconomic front, the U.S. Treasury announced an expansion of the scale of Treasury bond repurchases, with the liquidity support repurchase scale for 10- to 30-year securities set to "at least double." Following the announcement, U.S. Treasury yields and the U.S. dollar declined, providing overall support for risk assets. Adam McCarthy, Head of Research at crypto liquidity and market data firm LO:TECH, stated that **shorting Bitcoin had been a relatively clear market trade, and the Treasury's repurchase news became one of the catalysts driving capital back into risk assets.** Risk Warning and Disclaimer The market involves risks; investment should be approached with caution. This article does not constitute personal investment advice, nor does it take into account the specific investment objectives, financial status, or needs of individual users. Users should consider whether any opinions, views, or conclusions in this article align with their specific circumstances. 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