Bitcoin return to $71K would wipe $1.38B shorts

If Bitcoin were to return to its price on June 6, over a billion in short positions would be liquidated.
If Bitcoin were to return to its price on June 6, over a billion in short positions would be liquidated.

Should Bitcoin quickly rebound from its recent dip to its June 6 price of $71,000, over a billion dollars worth of short positions will be liquidated.

On June 7, Bitcoin (BTC) dropped 3.33% to $68,507 before slightly recovering above its key level of $69,000 amid broader macroeconomic uncertainty triggered by the United States Employment Situation Summary Report, which revealed more job growth than expected during May. 

Along with Bitcoin’s price decline, Ether (ETH) also saw a 3.58% decline over the 24 hours, and several altcoins, such as Solana’s (SOL), Dogecoin (DOGE) and Pepe (PEPE), took a hit of 5.61%, 8.70% and 9.99% respectively, according to CoinMarketCap data. 

The market plunge led to a $409.51 million wipe out of short and long positions across the board, according to CoinGlass data. Of that, $56.71 million were long positions in Bitcoin.

If Bitcoin returns to $71,000, approximately $1.38 billion in short positions will be liquidated. Source: CoinGlass

However, two days before Bitcoin’s price decline, on June 5 and 6, it hovered between $70,000 and $71,662. Many traders were hopeful it might inch closer to its all-time high of $73,679.

Traders heavily lean towards shorting Bitcoin

Now, traders are hedging their bets that its price might not rebound as quickly.

So much so that if Bitcoin returns to $71,000, $1.38 billion in long positions will be wiped out, indicating that futures traders anticipate further price declines.

Source: Willy Woo

This comes after investors have been curious as to why Bitcoin’s price hasn’t surpassed its March all-time highs lately, especially given the 19-day streak of positive inflows into Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

Related: Bitcoin ETF flows will send BTC price into ‘parabolic run,’ traders say 

On June 7, Cointelegraph reported that analysts indicated that many more factors impact Bitcoin’s price and that the ETFs don’t have enough clout.

“ETF flows are fantastic, but they are not strong enough to exceed the entire ecosystem selling (yet),” Capriole Investments founder Charles Edwards told Cointelegraph.

Meanwhile, crypto trader Christopher Inks reiterated that “the market is made up of spot, futures, ETFs, and options.”

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