Bitcoin Hits Highest Price Since June as $3 Billion in Shorts Liquidated
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- Bitcoin hit an intraday high of $72,408 Thursday before easing to $71,423 (up 3.07%), its highest level since a June 2 flash crash knocked it below $68,000.
- Short sellers suffered record losses: over $3 billion in short positions liquidated in 24 hours, wiping out more than 190,000 traders in what the article calls their worst two days on record.
- The U.S. Treasury doubled its long-bond buyback cap from $2B to $4B per operation on 10-to-30-year securities starting September 9, pulling bond yields down and weakening the dollar in a combination analysts nicknamed "QE Lite."
- The White House hosted a crypto meeting hours after the Treasury announcement, with President Trump sitting down with executives from Coinbase, Ripple, and Robinhood.
- Bitcoin's death cross — formed November 16, 2025, six weeks after the record high near $126,198 — remained intact as of Thursday afternoon, with the chart still not decisively closing above both moving averages.
- Glassnode characterized the move as Bitcoin's "largest upside shock since October 2023" relative to recent volatility.
- Crypto-linked equities and ETFs rode the rally: Strategy jumped nearly 12%, Coinbase climbed 9% this week, and spot Bitcoin ETFs pulled in $517 million Wednesday — their largest single-day haul since May.
Why it matters: Short sellers lost $3B in 24 hours on a Treasury announcement that doesn't take effect until September 9 — meaning the next round of actual liquidity could either extend the rally or set up the next reversal. Strategy (+12%) and Coinbase (+9%) caught serious updraft, signaling institutional conviction beyond spot price action.
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