“Bearish Bets Backfire” as Bitcoin Targets $70,000 Amid Overwhelming Buying Pressure

▲ Bitcoin (BTC) surge / AI-generated image

Bitcoin (BTC) has staged a powerful rebound and is approaching the $70,000 level, triggering massive forced liquidations of investors who had bet on a decline, unleashing explosive buying momentum across the market.

According to crypto media outlet BeInCrypto on February 26 (local time), major digital assets including Bitcoin posted sharp recoveries, leading to $585 million in liquidations across the global cryptocurrency market over the past 24 hours. Losses were particularly significant among investors holding short positions that anticipated price declines. About 81% of the total liquidations—approximately $473 million—came from short positions, pushing the market into a powerful short squeeze driven by forced buying as traders rushed to cover their positions.

Bitcoin surged more than 7.5% in 24 hours, briefly surpassing the $69,000 mark. The rally accelerated as key technical resistance levels that had pressured prices for weeks were successively broken. Data from analytics firm CoinGlass showed that more than $188 million in Bitcoin short positions were wiped out alone. This dealt a critical blow to bearish forces confident in a prolonged downturn and signaled that market leadership has shifted back to buyers.

Major altcoins such as Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL) also soared alongside Bitcoin’s upward momentum. Ethereum liquidated over $110 million in short positions as it reclaimed the $2,100 level, while Solana converted $35 million worth of bearish bets into forced buying. Large-scale liquidations were concentrated on major exchanges including Binance, OKX, and Bybit, contributing to a rapid recovery in market liquidity.

The market’s Fear & Greed Index jumped significantly from the previous day, returning to the “Greed” zone. As uncertainties that had exerted artificial selling pressure were resolved, suppressed demand burst forth. With short sellers exiting en masse and strong buying interest filling the gap, the likelihood of Bitcoin reclaiming $70,000 has increased substantially. Despite heightened short-term volatility, downside resilience has become more solid than before.

The cryptocurrency market is now attempting to break decisively from the previous downtrend and enter a new upward cycle following this large-scale liquidation event. As Bitcoin stabilizes above $68,000, a virtuous cycle of capital inflows from both institutional and retail investors has begun to form. This rebound, driven by a massive short squeeze, underscores the market’s strong fundamentals and has lifted the total cryptocurrency market capitalization back to around $2.5 trillion.

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