BTC breaks above $75,000; $750T in shorts liquidated. Is this a short-squeeze rebound or a trend reversal?
Over the past six weeks, Bitcoin traded sideways between $62,000 and $66,900. Market sentiment was frozen, and the Fear Index once fell to its lowest point.
Everyone was short. Perpetual futures funding rates remained negative for an extended period, and shorts piled leverage to the extreme.
Then—
On the evening of August 19, BTC surged straight up from $64,000, reaching a high of $75,700 today.
In 24 hours, $3.3 billion in positions were liquidated, including $3.07 billion in shorts. Nearly 200k people were wiped out in one wave.
This was the largest liquidation wave since 2021.
Then everyone started asking the same question:
Can this move continue?
Will the market be left in ruins after the short squeeze?
My view is—
The short squeeze is the gunpowder, policy is the fuse, and ETFs are the fuel.
A short squeeze alone cannot sustain a trend. But with all three resonating, this rally may last longer than most people imagine.
Three signals. Judge for yourself.
Signal one: ETFs recorded net inflows for three consecutive days, with $517 million on August 19 alone
This is not short-term speculative money.
On August 19, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $517 million in net inflows, their highest single-day inflow since May 4.
Net inflows continued for three straight days. BlackRock's IBIT attracted $285 million in a single day.
Institutions are building positions with real money.
Signal two: White House crypto meeting + Treasury expands Treasury buybacks
On August 19, Trump met with crypto industry executives from Coinbase, Ripple, Gemini, and others in the Roosevelt Room of the White House.
He said three things:
“The government has completely ended its war on cryptocurrencies.”
“The United States has discussed accumulating a considerable amount, or even a large-scale amount, of Bitcoin.”
“Cryptocurrencies have significantly eased pressure on the dollar.”
That same day, the U.S. Treasury announced that it would increase the size of long-term Treasury buybacks from $2 billion to $4 billion.
Long-term Treasury yields fell in response. The dollar weakened.
Macro liquidity and the regulatory environment both improved.
The president and Treasury of the world's largest economy sent crypto-friendly signals on the same day.
Signal three: Perpetual futures funding rates reverse for the first time after remaining negative for an extended period
This is the easiest signal to overlook, but the most important.
CryptoQuant founder Ki Young Ju posted on X:
“For the first time since Bitcoin hit a new all-time high in October 2025, Bitcoin demand has turned positive in both the spot and perpetual futures markets at the same time.”
BTC's rebound during the earlier period was mainly driven by futures, while spot buying never caught up—it was “walking on one leg.”
Now spot demand has also turned positive.
The market structure is shifting from “everyone short” to “a balance between longs and shorts.”
Ki Young Ju put it clearly: “If this trend continues for a month, it would be reasonable to conclude that the bear market has ended and a new bull-market cycle has begun.”
One day's data can reflect sentiment and a short squeeze. A month's data comes closer to indicating a trend. So,
The short squeeze is the gunpowder—$3 billion in shorts were liquidated, and forced buying pushed prices higher, creating a chain reaction.
Policy is the fuse—the White House's endorsement plus the Treasury's expanded buybacks delivered macro and regulatory tailwinds simultaneously.
ETFs are the fuel—institutional funds recorded net inflows for three consecutive days, not short-term speculative money.
A short squeeze alone can at most support a rebound, followed by a complete mess.
But if all three resonate—
This rally may last longer than most people imagine.
But don't celebrate too soon.
IG chief technical analyst Axel Rudolph pointed out that this rally will face an important test next—the ability to maintain its current momentum and further challenge the area around $75,000.
What is the key?
Whether ETFs continue to record net inflows over the next week.
If inflows stop—this move is purely a short-squeeze rebound, and profit-taking at high levels and the rebuilding of leverage will amplify volatility.
If they continue—then it confirms a new trend. #24小时全网爆仓8亿美元 #BTC breaks above $75000 #BTCETH反弹交易思路 $BTC $ETH $SOL $SNDK $NVDA