Crypto markets have faced a wave of liquidations over the past 24 hours, with total losses reaching $635.9 million, according to market data. Most of the liquidations (over $560 million) came from short positions, signaling growing pressure on bearish traders.

Bitcoin (BTC) led the liquidation charts, with $293 million in short positions wiped out as BTC surged past $94,000, marking a 6.29% gain within one day, according to CoinGlass data.

Ether (ETH) followed, with over $109 million in short liquidations as its price climbed nearly 10% to $1,787.

Data from exchanges showed Binance accounted for the largest share of liquidations at $18.7 million in the last four hours, with 78% of that targeting short positions. Bybit and OKX also saw significant liquidation volumes, reflecting widespread volatility across major platforms.

Crypto market sees a wave of liquidations. Source: CoinGlass

Related: Bitcoin breaks downtrend with spike toward $92.6K, but who’s behind the price momentum?

Trader says Bitcoin liquidity building around $100,000 level

Amid the market turbulence, crypto analyst Mister Crypto noted that liquidity is “piling up around $100,000” for Bitcoin.

In a recent post on X, he warned that bears are showing signs of desperation, suggesting a potential short squeeze could drive BTC closer to the six-figure mark.

A short squeeze occurs when a rapid price increase forces traders betting against the market to cover their positions, fueling further upward momentum.

Mister Crypto also shared a Binance BTC/USDT Liquidation Heatmap, showing that a large amount of Bitcoin trading activity and liquidation orders are building up around the $100,000 level, meaning many traders have set positions that could be triggered if the price reaches that point.

Source: Mister Crypto

Bitcoin surged to a 45-day high above $94,000 on April 23. The leading cryptocurrency was trading at $94,236, up by more than 6% over the past day, at the time of writing, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

Related: Bitcoin price prepares for ‘70% to 80%’ gain as onchain metrics and spot BTC ETF inflows spike

Not everyone believes Bitcoin will hit $100,000 soon

However, not everyone is optimistic about an imminent Bitcoin surge to $100,000.

“Bitcoin’s climb to $94K reflects renewed global optimism, but its path to $100K remains uncertain,” Vincent Liu, chief investment officer at Kronos Research, told Cointelegraph.

He said the outcome of the May 6 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, ongoing trade negotiations with India and China, and broader macro conditions will be critical. He added:

“Cleared tariffs and potential Fed rate cuts could ignite further momentum, while rate hikes or unresolved tensions may keep BTC range-bound. US monetary policy will be pivotal in determining if Bitcoin reaches this milestone.”

Magazine: XRP win leaves Ripple and industry with no crypto legal precedent set

Bitcoin (BTC) has officially overtaken Alphabet (Google) to become the world’s fifth most valuable asset by market capitalization.

As of April 23, Bitcoin’s market cap had surged to $1.87 trillion, edging past Alphabet’s $1.859 trillion valuation, according to asset ranking data. BTC is now only behind gold, Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia.

Top assets by market cap. Source: CompaniesMarketCap.com

Bitcoin beats Nasdaq 100 returns in April

Bitcoin’s edge over Alphabet coincides with an ongoing “decoupling” from its long-standing correlation with US tech stocks, especially in April, wherein BTC’s price has rallied 15% despite Nasdaq 100’s returns of 4.50% in the same period.

BTC/USD and Nasdaq 100 price comparison chart. Source: TradingView

This decoupling follows months of disappointment for crypto bulls, who expected a stronger post-election rally.

Even with April’s gains, BTC’s price remains 16% below its $109,000 all-time high set in January, the day Trump was re-inaugurated as the US president.

Source: Geiger Capital

Trump’s recent criticism of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and his executive order to create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR)—which is nearing its 60-day review window in less than two weeks—is helping reignite investor interest in crypto.

Related: Bitcoin could hit $1M if US buys 1M BTC — Bitcoin Policy Institute

“Chatter questioning Fed independence is having positive spillover effects on BTC,” said Vetle Lunde, head of research at K33.

Macro analyst Fejau stressed that capital outflows from US assets will likely benefit Bitcoin given countries can’t tariff it — and that it “provides high beta to a portfolio without the current tail risks associated with US tech.”

“This market regime is what Bitcoin was built for,” he wrote, adding:

“One the degrossing dust settles, it will be the fastest horse out of the gate.

Bitcoin market worth more than two Teslas

Alphabet is facing headwinds in the form of regulatory crackdowns, antitrust challenges, and a slowdown in digital ad revenue. The rise of AI-focused rivals and reduced growth projections have also dented confidence in Google’s long-term dominance.

Source: The Japan Times

To put Bitcoin’s $1.87 trillion valuation into perspective, it’s now worth more than two Teslas.

The EV giant famously added Bitcoin to its balance sheet in early 2021, when it was trading for around $33,500. It is now sitting on around 180% gains worth over $1 billion.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Key points:

Whales on Binance joins Coinbase in adding BTC exposure as Bitcoin recovers above $90,000.

The Coinbase premium is back in the green amid a broad risk-asset relief rally.

Resistance attributed to an entity dubbed “Spoofy the Whale” at $90,000 disappears.

Bitcoin (BTC) has fresh whale buying pressure across major exchanges as large-volume investors boost BTC price gains.

New data from onchain analytics platform CryptoQuant reports both Binance and Coinbase whales “pushing the market up.”

Coinbase BTC premium hits highest since February

Bitcoin whales are wasting no time adding BTC exposure as BTC/USD hits its highest levels in over six weeks.

This is reflected in market data, including the so-called Coinbase premium — the difference in pricing between the BTC/USD pair on the largest US exchange, Coinbase, and Binance’s BTC/USDT equivalent.

A positive premium indicates US buyer interest, with current values showing “alternate” demand between Coinbase and Binance.

“These two exchanges, which can be considered the largest in the world, have their whales alternately pushing the market up, creating a very positive situation, CryptoQuant contributor Crypto Dan summarized in one of its “Quicktake” blog posts.

Coinbase premium index. Source: CryptoQuant

Crypto Dan added that retail investors had undergone a shakeout thanks to the recent unpredictable BTC price action.

“Recently, most people had shifted their view to a bearish cycle, and public interest had significantly decreased,” he wrote. 

“Furthermore, with Bitcoin and altcoins in an oversold condition, the market has effectively shaken off the retail investors (the ‘small fish’), which means the market is now ready for a rise.”

Mystery whale “relinquished control” of Binance order book

Binance order book data appears to corroborate the theory.

Related: US dollar goes ‘no-bid’ — 5 things to know in Bitcoin this week

As highlighted by Keith Alan, co-founder of trading resource Material Indicators, all classes of whales on Binance have begun buying.

In addition, a wall of resistance at $90,000, which Allen previously attributed to an entity he dubbed “Spoofy the Whale,” has vanished.

“Spoofy the Whale has relinquished control of the BTC order book on Binance,” he summarized in an X post on April 23.

BTC/USDT order book liquidity. Source: Keith AlanX

Alan reiterated that Bitcoin still needed a decisive reclaim of its yearly open at around $93,500 to complete a bullish turnaround and leave its multimonth downtrend behind.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.