Overview
- Bitcoin and Ethereum rallied strongly on Wednesday and Thursday as Bitcoin climbed above $71,000 and reached levels above $72,000 while Ether cleared $2,200 to trade near $2,300.
- The immediate catalyst was the U.S. Treasury’s announcement to raise long-dated buyback sizes to at least $4 billion per operation, which lowered long yields and weakened the dollar and made risk assets more attractive.
- Heavy same-day inflows into spot ETFs provided direct spot buying with reported figures of roughly $517 million into Bitcoin products and about $71–189 million into Ether products that reinforced the breakout.
- Rapid price moves forced a wave of forced liquidations that amplified the rally, with market-data providers reporting roughly $1.1–$1.6 billion in shorts wiped out in a single hour and more than $2.7–$3.3 billion over 24 hours.
- Analysts say the short squeeze removed much bearish leverage but warned that the move will need sustained new spot demand to absorb profit-taking and confirm a durable trend change.