BTC Price Hits 200-Day EMA as $3.3B Liquidations Fuel Rally

The BTC price has run hard enough to wake up an altcoin market that had little to celebrate. From $62,821 on August 17 to $72,071 by August 20, Bitcoin gained roughly 14%, pushing against its 200-day EMA while the top 100 altcoins largely moved into the green.

BTC Price Rally Gives Altcoins Room to Breathe

This wasn’t simply a Bitcoin move. The rally has spread across the broader market, with major altcoins responding positively as traders regain some appetite for risk. Still, the biggest driver appears to have come from the derivatives market, where short sellers were caught leaning too heavily toward another leg lower.

The result was a sizeable short squeeze. As the BTC price climbed from August 17 onward, leveraged bearish positions were liquidated across the market. CoinGlass data shows total crypto liquidations reaching $3.30 billion over the latest 24-hour period.

That matters because leverage can turn an ordinary price move into something considerably more violent. Once positions begin getting liquidated, forced buying can push prices higher, creating another round of liquidations. It’s an ugly feedback loop for anyone positioned on the wrong side.

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