Bitcoin Rallies Near $70,000 as Record Short Liquidations Trigger a Massive Squeeze

• Bitcoin perpetual futures recorded approximately $1.1 billion in short position liquidations within 24 hours.
• The total liquidation volume in the cryptocurrency market reached $1.92 billion on the same day.
• The price of the leading cryptocurrency touched an intraday high of $68,982.40 before stabilizing above $68,100.

During the day on August 19, the price of Bitcoin came close to touching $70,000 following a 5.4% rally that forced the massive closure of bearish operations on major derivatives platforms.

The first-ever daily billion-dollar short liquidation volume in $BTC, and of course, also the largest short liquidation volume in $BTC ever!

*Binance limited its liquidation data in April 2021, while Bybit limited its data between September 2021 and February 2025. pic.twitter.com/UCIGftzSqt

— Vetle Lunde (@VetleLunde) August 19, 2026

Records from the CoinGecko platform confirmed that the quote advanced to a peak of $68,982.40. This movement represents the highest price level for the asset since June.

The forced adjustment of positions in the derivatives market reached unprecedented proportions. A technical report published by K33 Research revealed that Bitcoin perpetual futures contracts absorbed nearly $1.1 billion in liquidations exclusively from short positions in a single day.