Bitcoin Hits Highest Price Since June as $3 Billion in Shorts Liquidated

In brief

• Bitcoin hit an intraday high of $72,408 Thursday before easing to $71,423, up 3.07% on the day
• This is the highest level since a flash crash sent the coin below $68,000 on June 2.
• Bitcoin's short sellers are having their worst two days on record: more than $3 billion in short positions were liquidated across crypto in the past 24 hours alone, taking out over 190,000 traders.

Bitcoin broke back above $72,000 Thursday, touching an intraday high of $72,408 before easing to trade near $71,423, up 3.07% on the day.

That's the highest Bitcoin has traded since June 2, when a flash crash knocked it from roughly $71,765 to $67,895 in a single session, the opening move in a slide that eventually dragged Bitcoin to a 21-month low near $57,832 by the end of June.

The rally, now in its second day, has added close to 15% since Monday.

The gains also sparked a massive liquidation of short positions—bets that Bitcoin's price would fall, placed by traders who borrow and sell the asset planning to buy it back cheaper later. When the price rises instead, exchanges force-close those trades once a trader's collateral can't cover the loss, a process called a liquidation.

That mechanic was already visible during Wednesday's squeeze, when Bitcoin first cleared $70,000. Per Coinglass, 174.416 traders were liquidated in the past 24 hours with the total liquidations coming in at $2.85 billion, adding up to the numbers from yesterday.