Short Sellers Lose $440 Million as Bitcoin Climbs Toward $75,000

Bitcoin (BTC) gained 5.7% over the past 24 hours, climbing to $74,679 and triggering $540 million in crypto liquidations across the derivatives market.

The rally caught short sellers off guard, with 169,525 traders liquidated in the period, according to CoinGlass data.

Short Sellers Bear the Brunt

Short positions accounted for $440 million of the total losses, roughly 81% of all liquidations. Long traders lost nearly $100 million by comparison.

BTC-denominated positions led the damage at $236 million, followed by Ethereum (ETH) at $143 million, Rave at $35 million, and Solana (SOL) at $11.37 million. The single largest liquidation order hit on Aster, a BTCUSDT position worth $12.40 million.

ETH rallied 9.4% to $2,388, while SOL rose 5.2% to $86.10.

Multiple catalysts converged to squeeze overleveraged short positions. President Trump said Monday that Iran wants to make a deal “very badly,” signaling potential de-escalation after last weekend’s failed ceasefire talks. The prospect of renewed negotiations lifted risk appetite across markets.

On the institutional side, Strategy disclosed a $1 billion Bitcoin purchase between April 6 and 12, adding 13,927 BTC to its treasury. The firm now holds 780,897 BTC, roughly 3.7% of the total supply, reinforcing the case for sustained corporate demand.

With shorts already overcrowded heading into the weekend, the combination of geopolitical relief and fresh institutional buying triggered cascading liquidations that accelerated BTC’s push past $74,000. Whether bulls can hold this level may depend on the outcome of any resumed US-Iran negotiations in the days ahead.

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