Bitcoin has climbed back above $80,000 for the first time since the October 29 Binance hack, signaling a notable recovery in market sentiment. The rebound on Wednesday, November 4, sparked a substantial short squeeze, wiping out approximately $468.5 million in bearish positions across cryptocurrency futures markets.

The rally accelerated following the opening of U.S. stock markets, prompting traders holding leveraged short positions to buy back their contracts. Bitcoin rose to around $80,550, posting a 2.7% gain over 24 hours. Ethereum outperformed BTC, climbing 4.4% to approximately $2,427.

Bitcoin’s recovery occurred in two rapid upward moves. BTC was trading at $78,321 at 14:30 UTC, around the start of the New York trading session. Within 15 minutes, it had advanced to $79,559 before extending its gains to $81,196 by 15:15 UTC. Earlier in the session, Bitcoin had dropped to $75,736, putting its intraday price swing above 7%.

Most of the liquidated positions belonged to traders betting on further Bitcoin declines. However, rallies driven primarily by short liquidations can lose momentum once forced buying subsides. Sustained demand from spot market investors will therefore be important to keep the recovery intact.

Bitcoin Short Squeeze Triggers $468.5 Million in Liquidations

According to CoinGlass data, cryptocurrency futures markets recorded $715.6 million in liquidations over 24 hours. Short positions accounted for 65.5% of the total, equivalent to approximately $468.5 million. Overall, nearly 99,879 traders had their positions liquidated.

Bitcoin recorded the highest liquidation volume at $267.1 million. Short positions made up 93.4% of BTC-related liquidations, highlighting how aggressively bearish traders were caught off guard by the sudden price reversal.

Ethereum ranked second, with $197.5 million in liquidations, of which 58.1% came from short positions. Binance was responsible for 39.3% of total liquidations across the crypto market.

The largest single liquidation was a $38 million Ethereum long position on HTX, closed at $2,429.33, close to ETH’s prevailing market price.

Futures market activity also suggests that traders were cutting their exposure as Bitcoin advanced. Open interest in BTC futures on OKX peaked at $3.88 billion before falling to $3.74 billion by midnight UTC. This decline indicates that existing positions were being unwound rather than replaced by a significant influx of new leveraged bets.

Despite the price rebound, market sentiment remains relatively cautious. The OKX long-to-short account ratio for BTC declined from 1.84 at 11:00 UTC on Wednesday to 1.52 by Thursday morning. The shift suggests that short positioning has gained relative strength even as Bitcoin prices moved higher.

Bitcoin Price Analysis: Can BTC Reclaim Its Pre-Hack Level?

Bitcoin is currently hovering around two important technical indicators: its 20-day exponential moving average (EMA) at $80,006 and its 50-day EMA at $80,166. With both averages converging around $80,000, this zone has become a critical area for determining the strength of the ongoing recovery.

The next major resistance level sits near $81,971, where Bitcoin traded before the October 29 Binance hack triggered a wave of selling across the market. A sustained breakout above this level would allow BTC to recover the losses associated with the incident.

Meanwhile, options market data indicates that traders are not positioning for a significant volatility spike. Deribit’s DVOL index, which measures the market’s expectations for Bitcoin’s volatility over the next 30 days, slipped to 36.9 from 38 on Wednesday.

The next phase of Bitcoin’s recovery will largely depend on whether spot market buyers continue accumulating BTC after the short squeeze fades. Strong buying pressure could help Bitcoin maintain support above $80,000 and make another attempt at reclaiming its pre-hack trading level.

Conversely, a lack of fresh demand could undermine the recovery. If buying activity weakens after forced short liquidations come to an end, Wednesday’s rally may turn out to be a temporary market rebound rather than the start of a sustained bullish trend.