Bitcoin Rebounds Past $63K, Liquidates $540M in Shorts in 7-Week High

Bitcoin recovered to highs of $63,800 on Monday, up roughly 7.5% from a Saturday low of $59,353, according to CoinGecko data. The cryptocurrency was trading around $63,350, up 2.4% on the day. The bounce liquidated $539 million in crypto short positions on Sunday, the highest level since the April 17 crash, according to CoinGlass data.

Over the past 24 hours, total crypto liquidations surpassed $588 million, of which $444 million were short positions. Bitcoin's aggregated open interest, or total open positions, hovered around 255,000 BTC after the weekend bounce, down from Friday's high of 285,000 BTC, according to Velo data. The aggregated spot and perpetual cumulative volume delta, representing the difference between buying and selling pressure, has ticked up since Friday's low, indicating increased demand across both spot and perpetuals.

The selloff was not limited to cryptocurrencies. The S&P 500 index dropped 2.90% on Friday and was down roughly 2.70% from its all-time high of 7,632. South Korea's KOSPI index dropped more than 8% on Monday, triggering a circuit breaker. "Large outflows last week reflected institutional reactions to macroeconomic headlines, while the tech-heavy KOSPI's 8% decline highlights the broader pressure facing risk assets amid escalating developments in the Middle East," Paul Howard, Senior Director at Wincent, told Decrypt.

The Coinbase premium index, which measures demand from U.S. investors, improved from last week's reading of -0.048 to -0.035, remaining in negative territory. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told a Wednesday hearing of the Senate Finance Committee that his department is proceeding with "deliberate speed" on President Donald Trump's order to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve, emphasizing the administration's methodical approach to the initiative. "We are making sure that as we are doing this complicated process, that we use best practices and things will be durable for t..."

Despite the weekend recovery, sentiment remained subdued. The Crypto Fear and Greed index sat at 8, its lowest level since late February 2026. On Myriad, a prediction market owned by Decrypt's parent company Dastan, users placed a 73% chance on Bitcoin's next move taking it to $55,000 rather than $85,000 after the market flipped bearish last Tuesday.