Bitcoin Rally to $77K Erases $585M in Short Bets

Bitcoin rose to about $77,000 on April 17, 2026, erasing roughly $585 million in short positions and lifting the global crypto market capitalization to about $2.61 trillion, according to market data.

The token climbed more than 3% in 24 hours and has gained roughly 14% from April lows. Twenty-four hour crypto market volume increased about 12% to $172 billion. Data from CoinGlass showed more than 164,835 traders were liquidated in the past day, with total liquidations of $747.81 million and the largest single loss a $15.75 million BTC/USD position on Hyperliquid.

Short positions made up the bulk of the wipeouts. More than 78% of liquidated positions were shorts, totaling roughly $585 million. Bitcoin-specific liquidations accounted for about $378 million of the total, and roughly $344 million of those BTC liquidations were shorts. Ether rose over 3% to about $2,420 and triggered $162 million in liquidations, of which $142 million, or about 87%, were shorts. Among top tokens, RaveDAO’s RAVE climbed about 25% to trade near $21.69.

Derivatives data showed continued bearish positioning despite the price rise. Funding rates for perpetual futures remained negative for roughly 46 consecutive days. Options markets showed demand for downside protection, with premiums evident on put strikes at $60,000 and $50,000.

Crypto-linked exchange-traded funds recorded net inflows exceeding $332 million for the week through April 16, 2026. On April 16, Bitcoin ETFs drew $26.05 million while Ether ETFs posted $18.02 million, the sixth straight day of positive flows for Ether products. BlackRock’s IBIT led inflows with $81.71 million for the period, raising its cumulative ETF assets to about $64.35 billion. Grayscale’s Bitcoin product added $16.67 million, taking its cumulative total to $2.23 billion. Morgan Stanley’s MSBT recorded $13.36 million in inflows. Fidelity’s FBTC and ARK’s ARKB showed outflows of about $36 million and $27.4 million, respectively.

Market conditions showed a risk-on tilt as equities rose while oil and the dollar weakened. Participants cited comments from U.S. and Iranian officials as market influences. Social sentiment metrics indicated more bearish than bullish commentary, with roughly three bearish comments for every two bullish ones.

Data show many leveraged traders remained positioned for lower prices even as short liquidations accelerated. Funding and options positioning remain tilted toward downside protection while spot and institutional inflows continued during the rally.