• Bitcoin has finally broken out of its six-week consolidation range, triggering nearly $3 billion in short liquidations and creating the largest forced short unwind since at least 2021.
• BTC pushed above $71,000 for the first time since June, rising about 3.5% since midnight UTC and roughly 11% over the previous 24 hours. The breakout ended the range that had contained Bitcoin since July 8.
• The initial rally was largely driven by market positioning rather than a single fundamental catalyst. Bitcoin had spent six weeks moving between approximately $62,000 and $66,900, while volatility declined to multi-year lows.
• The prolonged sideways action encouraged traders to build short positions near the upper end of the range, leaving a significant concentration of liquidation levels around $65,000-$67,000.
• The turning point came after the US Treasury announced plans to at least double long-term bond buybacks to $4 billion. The move helped push the 30-year Treasury yield lower from 5.337%, its highest level since 2007, boosting appetite for risk assets.
• Once Bitcoin cleared the range high, short sellers were forced to close their positions, creating additional buying pressure. BTC surged more than 8% in roughly an hour as the liquidation cascade intensified.

Trump’s Comments Give Bitcoin Another Push

• President Donald Trump addressed the crypto market several hours later, after Bitcoin had already completed most of its initial rally.
• Trump urged Congress to move forward with the Clarity Act, suggested that the US could acquire significant amounts of Bitcoin and said regulators were working toward a compliant US pathway for Hyperliquid.
• The comments added fresh momentum and helped Bitcoin remain above the $70,000 mark.
• Ether traded around $2,270, just below its three-month high, after jumping 19% over 24 hours. Solana, XRP and Dogecoin also posted gains of more than 10%.
• Coinbase’s Fear and Greed Index rose to 59, entering “greed” territory from 41, which represented “fear.” Bitcoin’s daily trading volume also surged 250% to about $59 billion.

Billions in Short Positions Liquidated

• Crypto short liquidations totaled approximately $3 billion over 24 hours, compared with about $263.5 million in long liquidations.
• Bitcoin accounted for around $1.67 billion of the forced closures, while Ether contributed roughly $1.14 billion. More than $1 billion was liquidated during a single hour.
• The BTC long-to-short account ratio fell to 0.835 from approximately 1.05 on Tuesday, showing that traders were predominantly positioned short before the breakout.
• That imbalance helped turn what began as a technical move into a much larger short squeeze.

Open Interest Rebuilds After the Squeeze

• Aggregate crypto open interest rose 9.11% to $131.25 billion, according to Coinalyze. Bitcoin OI increased 7.18% to $23.4 billion, while Ether OI climbed 12.36% to $13.2 billion.
• HYPE recorded the biggest jump in open interest, increasing 29%. The surge came mainly after Trump discussed a possible US regulatory pathway for Hyperliquid rather than during Bitcoin’s initial breakout.
• Funding rates remained relatively restrained despite the rapid price gains. BTC funding was 0.0101%, while ETH stood at 0.0103%.
• The relatively low funding rates suggest traders have not yet returned to the aggressive leverage levels that often emerge after a major short squeeze.
• Futures basis also compressed, with the Aug. 28 OKX contract at 7.68% annualized and the Sept. 25 Deribit contract at 4.71%.
• The futures structure indicates that spot buying is currently leading the move, rather than excessive leverage, providing a healthier signal for the rally.

Altcoins Also Rally

• LIT gained 12.4% since midnight to $2.92 and jumped 26.5% over 24 hours, bringing its weekly gain to 22.8%.
• PUMP rose 9.39% to $0.003285, extending its recent rally as daily trading volume climbed to $112 million.
• ETHFI advanced 5.68% to $0.5566 and was up 46.3% over seven days as Ethereum-related tokens benefited from ETH’s surge.
• HYPE increased 2.4% since midnight to $71.12 and was 21.9% higher over 24 hours following Trump’s comments about a potential US pathway for Hyperliquid.
• WLFI was among the few major tokens to fall, declining 4.66% to $0.0586.
• Bitcoin dominance climbed to 59.2%, while CoinMarketCap’s Altcoin Season Index slipped to 36 from 44. The shift suggests that investors are concentrating capital in Bitcoin and other large-cap cryptocurrencies rather than moving broadly into smaller altcoins.