Bitcoin faces $343M in shorts – Why BTC could catch bears off guard

The next 24 hours could be pivotal for the crypto market.

And the market already seems to be positioning for more downside, with traders leaning bearish on Bitcoin. According to Lookonchain data, four Bitcoin traders have opened a combined short position of 5,379 $BTC, worth around $343 million, with liquidation levels between $64k-$66k. This suggests perp traders are expecting strong resistance around $66k, making this a key level to watch given the current setup.

From the technical lens, Bitcoin has been chopping around $65k for over seven weeks now. Notably, this marks $BTC’s strongest weekly consolidation since Q4 2025. However, with ETF flows still strong, a heavily crowded shorts could set up the conditions for a squeeze if $BTC breaks above resistance.

However, a few key pointers need to be considered.

To begin with, whales are also betting against Bitcoin, with their positioning adding to the broader bearish sentiment. And when we look at a key $BTC metric, this positioning doesn’t look entirely random. According to Glassnode, Bitcoin hasn’t hit key bottom levels yet, which suggests that while selling pressure is cooling off, it hasn’t reached the “extreme” exhaustion levels seen during previous $BTC bear markets.