Bitcoin and Ethereum short squeeze spark $1 billion in liquidations following US-UK trade agreement

Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) short traders took a major hit on Thursday, sparking nearly $1 billion in crypto liquidations. The short squeeze was fueled by BTC and ETH crossing $100,000 and $2,100, respectively, following President Trump's announcement of the US and UK reaching a trade agreement.

Crypto market liquidations near $1 billion following US-UK trade agreement

The crypto market saw a quick rebound on Thursday, with the total market cap climbing to $3.3 trillion for the first time since early March. Bitcoin and Ethereum led the charge, gaining 6% and 20%, respectively, at publication time.

The rally triggered a wave of futures liquidations worth $964 million across the crypto market in the past 24 hours, with short liquidations accounting for $834 million, per Coinglass data. The value may be understated, considering Coinglass' aggregated liquidation data from exchanges delays a few hours.

Bitcoin accounted for $416 million in liquidations as the sudden price rebound caught short sellers off guard. The largest liquidated position occurred on Binance, wiping out a BTC/USDT trade worth $11.97 million.

The rise follows Bitcoin breaking past the $100,000 mark for the first time since February 4. Despite the increased bullish sentiment dominating the market, Bitcoin's march to $102,000 could have mixed implications for its price, according to an X post from on-chain analytical platform Santiment.

The post reveals that retail fear of missing out (FOMO) — sparked by media coverage of Bitcoin's milestone — could sustain the rally in the short term. However, similar crypto rallies in the past have been halted due to increased calls of "higher or above like we're seeing now," the analysts wrote.

On the other hand, Ethereum rallied above the $2,000 psychological level for the first time since early March, sparking $259 million in short liquidations.

According to Santiment, Ethereum showed an example of contrarian success, rebounding sharply after a wave of retail-driven FUD. The asset saw significant sell pressure following a negative price response to the Pectra upgrade, with many traders rotating into meme coins and urging others to do the same, noted Santiment analysts.

Despite the negativity, ETH surged past $2,100 for the first time in over six weeks, outperforming the top 10 cryptocurrencies. Santiment noted that the turnaround came as crowd sentiment hit heightened negative levels, a dynamic that has historically preceded strong price recoveries.

The crypto market rally began following President Donald Trump's announcement of a trade agreement with the United Kingdom (UK) to ease some of the tariffs imposed on British goods on Liberation Day.

Trump stated that the deal with the UK is the first among many, as talks are in advanced stages with other international trading partners.