Bitcoin extended its rally on Friday, reaching a three-month high and punishing bearish traders as more than $1.2 billion in short positions were liquidated across the crypto market over 24 hours. According to CoinGecko, the largest cryptocurrency changed hands around $77,137, up 7.9% over the previous day, after touching an intraday high of $79,320. Over seven days, Bitcoin gained 23.2%, though it remained about 31.8% lower year-over-year.
Bybit also highlighted the move, noting that both Bitcoin and gold had surged to three-month highs, drawing attention to their growing correlation and renewed investor interest. The exchange's commentary on social media underscored a possible shift in trader sentiment as market participants weigh historically stable assets.
The upward move triggered a classic short squeeze. CoinGlass data showed roughly $1.5 billion in total crypto liquidations across 178,777 traders in 24 hours, with short positions accounting for about $1.21 billion. Bitcoin alone recorded around $17.25 million in liquidations on the one-hour heatmap, and the single largest liquidation order of the day was a $23.59 million BTC position wiped out on Hyperliquid.
The price surge followed a week of supportive political signals from Washington. President Donald Trump backed the crypto market-structure Clarity Act at a White House gathering and indicated that regulators were working to bring offshore perpetual-futures exchange Hyperliquid onshore. The news helped improve sentiment across digital asset markets.
Bitcoin was not alone in the advance, with Ethereum, Solana and other major tokens climbing alongside it. Bitcoin's market capitalization stood near $1.55 trillion, while 24-hour trading volume topped $69 billion. Earlier in the week, a prior move toward a recent high torched about $3 billion in shorts, leaving analysts divided on whether the momentum can hold.
