Bitcoin staged a sharp recovery on Friday, climbing more than 6% to break back above $80,000 and touching a local high of $81,034 on Bitstamp. The move triggered a wave of forced liquidations: CoinGlass data showed around $192 million in leveraged positions were wiped out in a single hour, with $183 million of that from shorts. Over four hours, cross-crypto short liquidations reached roughly $250 million, while the daily tally stood near $450 million, more than $390 million of which came from short positions. Bitcoin accounted for about $119 million of the hourly liquidations, followed by Ethereum at $36 million.
The rally followed a volatile week. Bitcoin had dropped to $75,000 on Tuesday after the CLARITY Act setback in the US Senate, and later absorbed a Federal Reserve rate hike — the first since July 2023. On Friday, the Bank of Japan’s decision to raise rates to a 31-year high was well received by crypto markets, helping BTC climb above $78,000 before the breakout. Rising oil-related uncertainty also pushed US 30-year bond yields to 5.34%, up 90 basis points on the day, and the International Energy Agency warned that countries may need to cut oil usage.
Analysts flagged the $80,000–$82,000 area as the key resistance zone. Nic Puckrin, founder of Coin Bureau, told Yahoo Finance that once Bitcoin broke past resistance around $78,000, short liquidations accelerated the push toward $80,000, adding that “the real test is now in the $80,000–$82,000 range.” Glassnode noted Bitcoin also reclaimed its True Market Mean at $76,660, moving back into what it described as a bullish regime.
Altcoins followed higher, with Ethereum back above $2,550, XRP above $1.35, and SOL and BNB posting more modest gains. On the regulatory front, a House committee advanced the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve bill on Thursday, which would lock US government-held Bitcoin in a federal reserve for at least 20 years with regular audits. The SEC and CFTC were also reported to be pushing ahead with crypto rules despite the CLARITY setback.
