Bitcoin’s Reclaims $70,000, But Analysts Aren’t Too Sure Of A Relief-Rally

Crypto markets rebounded sharply after Thursday’s washout, driven by short liquidations, lifting Bitcoin above $70,000 and triggering a broad altcoin rally amid improving retail sentiment.

• Short squeezes drove the rebound, pushing Bitcoin above $70,000 and lifting the total crypto market cap 9% to about $2.48 trillion.
• Liquidations led the move, with Bitcoin and Ethereum seeing heavy short wipes, signaling a positioning-led bounce rather than fresh demand.
• Altcoins rallied sharply, as shorts were pressured and retail sentiment turned increasingly bullish across major tokens.

After Thursday’s washout, the crypto markets bounced back quickly, pushing Bitcoin above $70,000 as shorts were squeezed and liquidation pressure reversed, with markets expecting a relief rally. But analysts are not too sure!

The bounce brought the total value of all cryptocurrencies to about $2.48 trillion, which is a 9% increase in 24 hours. CoinGlass data showed that short liquidations across major currencies were the main driver of the day's unwind, indicating that people quickly moved back into the rebound. 

Bitcoin (BTC) rose 10.66% in 24 hours to $70,652.60. Bitcoin had about $382.12 million in total liquidations in the last 24 hours, with $84.30 million in longs and $297.82 million in shorts. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment about Bitcoin improved from the ‘extremely bearish’ zone to the ‘bearish’ zone, and chatter levels remained ‘extremely high’ over the past day. 

What Do Analysts Say About A Relief Rally?

Chris Dixon of a16z stated in a market assessment that while it's "fashionable" to declare non-financial crypto use cases dead, doing so ignores the industry's current adoption cycle. 

According to Dixon, blockchain technology is still in its early stages of development, with the financial sector serving as the cornerstone and testing ground before other industries grow. He added that while clearer policy frameworks could speed up trust, the next stage of use cases, infrastructure, and distribution usually comes first, meaning that wider adoption might need hundreds of millions of users onboarded via payments, stablecoins, savings, and DeFi. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong also attested to Dixon’s argument. 

However, Bloomberg analyst Mike McGlone believes that Bitcoin’s relief rally is not an isolated incident but a reaction to political signals. He said Bitcoin's rally is fuelled by post-Great Session stimulus and risk-on conditions that may now be reversing and putting pressure on risk assets. He added that Bitcoin could be "rolling over" on an annual basis and that a mean reversion of $10,000 would not be abnormal in a tightening liquidity condition.

Altcoins Snap Back As Shorts Get Pressured

The altcoin market also stabilized and rallied, with liquidation prints skewing heavily toward shorts—another signal that the bounce was flow-driven and positioning-led.

Ethereum (ETH) was trading at $2,070.24, up 10.4% in a day. With $41.81 million longs and $85.83 million shorts, ETH reported about $127.64 million in total liquidations, continuing to be a major force behind derivative flows during the recovery. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around Ethereum remained in the ‘neutral’ zone, as chatter continued to be at ‘extremely high’ levels over the past day.

Solana (SOL) jumped to $87.91, up 15.4% over 24 hours. The token saw about $28.19 million in total liquidations. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around Solana changed from ‘bullish’ to ‘extremely bullish’ territory, while chatter levels stayed at ‘extremely high’ over the past day.

Ripple’s XRP (XRP) climbed to $1.4727, up 16.7% over 24 hours. XRP saw about $29.67 million in total liquidations. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around XRP remained in ‘extremely bullish’ territory, while chatter levels went from ‘extremely high’ to ‘high’ over the past day.

Dogecoin (DOGE) traded at $0.09863, up 10.21% over 24 hours. DOGE recorded roughly $5.23 million in total liquidations. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around DOGE remained in ‘bullish’ territory, while chatter levels were ‘high’ over the past day.

Binance BNB (BNB) advanced to $658.95, up 7.40% over 24 hours. BNB posted approximately $2.29 million in total liquidations. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around BNB remained in ‘bearish’ territory, while chatter levels were ‘high’ over the past day.

Read also: Strategy CEO Warns $8,000 Bitcoin Is the Balance Sheet Breaking Point After Q4 Loss

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