Bitcoin just wiped out $600 million in stakes and triggered a “mechanical” loop that forced the price towards $100,000

Bitcoin’s price has climbed above $95,000 in the past 24 hours, indicating a decisive change in market structure rather than a simple spike in volatility.

According to crypto slate The top cryptocurrency rose more than 3% to hit a high of more than $96,000, its highest price level since mid-November, data showed. At the time of writing, BTC has returned to $95,028.

Trading firm QCP Capital has described the situation as a “Goldilocks environment” in which the U.S. job market remains strong and inflation appears to be stable.

Risk appetite is returning across the board, with stocks, precious metals, the dollar and digital assets all rising at the same time, the company’s note said.

Bitcoin ETF Flow and Leverage Flash

Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s price rally was driven by the typical convergence of spot demand and leverage vulnerabilities, as the US Spot Bitcoin ETF raised approximately $753.8 million in a single session.

There were $753.8 million in net inflows and no net outflows from any of the 12 Spot Bitcoin ETFs on the day, according to data from Coinperps. Pragmatically speaking, this move suggests that it reflects broader creation across the complex, rather than a single product quirk or one-off rotation.

On the other hand, the composition of these flows provides clear evidence of organizational conviction.

The largest contribution came from Fidelity’s FBTC, with $351.4 million in inflows, followed by Bitwise’s BITB with $159.4 million, BlackRock’s IBIT with $126.3 million, and Ark/21Shares’ ARKB with $84.9 million.

Compounding this buy-side pressure was a wave of forced purchases that wiped out around $600 million in bets on bearish cryptocurrencies. Notably, this is the largest short-term liquidation event in the market since the October 10 crash.

Approximately $290 million in Bitcoin shorts were extinguished as part of a $600 million crypto liquidation event, according to CoinGlass data.

These liquidations act as mechanical buy orders that are placed into the market when a trader runs out of margin. This creates a feedback loop where ETF inflows tighten physical conditions, driving up prices, squeezing short sales, and liquidations prompting further buying.

Regulatory clarity and macro evolution

Beyond the immediate price movements, the crypto market is digesting important structural news combining domestic legislative developments and broader macropolitical tailwinds.

Earlier this week, details of the Clarity Act, a market structure framework for crypto assets, were announced by the US Senate.

The law seeks to clearly distinguish cryptoassets as either goods or securities and to define which regulators will oversee each category.

Essentially, this framework permanently makes Bitcoin, Ethereum, stablecoins, and spot ETFs part of the U.S. financial system. Market players argue that the bill will fuel a bull market in the industry.

As a result, on-chain data reflects a shift towards institutionalization.

CryptoQuant’s spot average order size shows that around the $90,000 level, medium to large orders are relatively prominent, while retailer participation remains limited. This suggests that large investors are cautiously adjusting their positions as they await regulatory clarity.

On the other hand, this legislative momentum is consistent with the macro environment in which the United States seeks to reassert its primacy.

QCP says markets have remained resilient despite rising geopolitical tensions and US involvement in Venezuela and Iran.

QCP Capital argues that the upcoming midterm elections are a key driver of this resilience. The firm suggested that the Trump administration has an incentive to maintain flash liquidity and chase highs in the stock market as a measure of political success.

With this in mind, QCP argued that BTC above $95,000 would fundamentally change the situation, as top cryptocurrencies had previously lagged the recent rally in stocks and precious metals.

He further added:

“Further fiat currency depreciation in the US is likely, which has driven up the price of precious metals, and the relative weakness of Bitcoin compared to precious metals at this point could spur rotation into digital assets.”

What’s next for Bitcoin?

Given these developments, Bitcoin investors are now considering three potential scenarios for the coming weeks.

• The first is a “squeeze and fade” range trade, where BTC gives back some of the movement if ETF inflows go sideways or turn negative.
• The second is a “flow-driven grind.” Multi-day inflows allow BTC to behave more like a spot accumulation market than a squeeze chart.
• Finally, the third scenario is a “reflexive breakout.” This scenario would generate inflows of $500 million to $700 million per day, creating a self-fulfilling rally in a supportive macro environment.

Allen Ding, head of Bitfire Research, said: crypto slate Market volatility indicators will be key indicators in the coming weeks, he said.

According to him:

“After Bitcoin’s 30-day implied volatility hit a yearly low of 40%, the decisive breakouts above $96,000 for BTC and $3,300 for ETH confirm that a clear upward direction for the market has been established.”

He added that this momentum will be supported by a stabilizing macro environment and important liquidity boosters such as the lifting of South Korea’s crypto investment ban.

Ultimately, the market will view this $95,000 recovery as a successful stress test of BTC’s ability to recover above six digits.