Coinpaper
April 3, 2026 3:22 PM UTC

BTC Rally: Bitcoin Hits $73K as $350M Shorts Get Crushed

Bitcoin has staged a ferocious comeback, smashing through $73,000 for the first time since late February as a record $350 million short squeeze caught leveraged bears completely offside. BTC rocketed from $68,200 support to $72,450 intraday before settling around $72,120, a blistering 5.8% rally in hours that erased the Iran war panic from earlier in the week. The carnage was total: shorts accounted for 89% of $395 million in total crypto liquidations, with Bitcoin alone wiping out $312 million in leveraged downside bets across Binance, Bybit, and OKX. Short Squeeze Carnage: Ethereum, Solana Follow The domino effect hit altcoins hard. Ethereum surged 8.2% to $2,100 after shorts contributed $68 million to the liquidation bonfire, while Solana exploded 11% to $185 on $42 million short pain. High-beta plays like XRP (+9.2% to $1.42) and Dogecoin (+14% to $0.28) feasted on the momentum, with total altcoin market cap jumping $180 billion in a single session. Trading volume exploded to $112 billion as spot and futures markets alike saw fresh long positioning replace the demolished shorts. Iran De-Escalation + Oil Pullback = Risk-On Reversal The macro pivot explains the ferocity. Brent crude eased from $84.38 peaks back toward $81.50 after U.S. naval escorts restored some tanker confidence through the Strait of Hormuz, dialing back fears of $100+ oil and sustained inflation shocks. President Trump's ”mission largely accomplished” comments on regime decapitation in Iran shifted sentiment from ”prolonged Middle East war” to ”contained cleanup,” letting high-beta crypto assets breathe again. The U.S. dollar index dipped 0.8% while gold pulled back from $5,400, confirming the classic risk-on rotation. Technical Setup: $75K Next or Fakeout? Bitcoin's chart screams bullish momentum. The $72,000 reclaimal flipped the 20-day EMA from resistance to support, while RSI bounced from oversold 32 to neutral 58 without hitting euphoria. Key support now sits at $70,500-$71,000, with $74,200 resistance eyeing late-February highs. Funding rates flipped positive across perpetuals, but remain moderate at +0.01%, suggesting sustainable long rebuilding rather than FOMO mania. Altcoin strength hints at broader risk appetite: DeFi TVL jumped 7% to $145 billion, and layer-2 volumes spiked 22%. If oil holds below $83 and Iran stays quiet, $75,000 Bitcoin becomes base case by weekend. Renewed Hormuz tensions or macro scares could easily retest $69,000, but for now, the short massacre confirms bulls firmly back in control.