The price movement of Bitcoin over the last day shows a dramatic battle between bulls and bears, which ended with a quick 100x leveraged short liquidation event at around $103,400. Although Bitcoin was able to stay above $103,000, the rejection close to that mark set off a series of liquidations for short positions that were too leveraged. The $103,400-$104,000 range showed a cluster of activity, as the liquidation heatmap illustrates.
In anticipation of a correction brought on by waning upward momentum, bears tried to stop the Bitcoin rally at this point. They misjudged the late bulls’ purchasing power, though, which led to a liquidation of high-leverage shorts – many of which were probably using 100x leverage. These extremely risky positions experienced immediate margin calls because they were unable to tolerate even slight volatility.
The all-time high of $109,000 has not yet been tested or surpassed by Bitcoin despite this localized spike in liquidation. That level is still almost $6,000 away, and whales seem doubtful of the momentum right now. The speed at which they jump into short positions close to recent highs shows their hesitancy; they are probably betting that the current uptrend has insufficient volume or sustained market interest to continue pushing higher without retracing.
Technically speaking, Bitcoin remains comfortably above its bullishly stacked 50-100 and 200-EMA levels. If buying pressure returns, the consolidation around $103,000 might serve as a base for a second breakout leg. The fact that RSI indicators are cooling off from previously overbought areas indicates that a pullback was required. The more significant question at this point is whether whales are attempting to outperform retail before the next leg up or are actually front-running a real top.
BTC may be ready for another push toward $106,000 and the pre-ATH region around $109,000 if it can hold above $103,000 and turn $104,780 into support. For the time being, Bitcoin is still on the verge of a significant breakout, but since whales are obviously not yet persuaded caution, is advised.