Bitcoin rallied by 22.9% starting from August 17, moving from $62,900 to trade at $77,306. The upward movement was fueled by heavy buying pressure, capital inflows, and massive short liquidations.
Data from CoinGlass indicated that the crypto market recorded $2.739 billion in short liquidations on August 19, followed by an additional $1.265 billion liquidation wave on August 21. These events marked the two largest short liquidations of 2026, while the 4-hour Relative Strength Index (RSI) reached sustained historical extremes in overbought territory.
Cumulative short liquidations on Binance surpassed cumulative long liquidations, reaching $7.739 billion compared to $7.582 billion for longs. According to analyst Boris, this was the first such overtake since an October 2025 short squeeze that preceded a later sell-off in the same month.
Veteran trader Killa stated on X that the obliteration of short positions generally contrasts with typical bear market conditions, where controlled bounces are usually sold off quickly. Meanwhile, an examination of the 1-day timeframe and Fibonacci levels showed that the bearish swing structure remained intact, with the 78.6% retracement level at $77,462 acting as a key supply zone and $82.8k serving as a critical swing high.
