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Bitcoin blew past $69,000 on Wednesday in its strongest single-day move since early February, wiping out nearly $400 million in bearish bets and dragging the entire altcoin market up 10–17% from levels that matched the worst sentiment readings in crypto history.
The Squeeze That Became a Rally
What started as a technical bounce overnight turned into something bigger during the US session. BTC climbed from its Tuesday low near $62,800 to above $69,000 by late afternoon — a gain of more than 6% in 24 hours. The move liquidated nearly $400 million in leveraged positions across crypto derivatives, with the overwhelming majority being shorts. When the Fear & Greed Index is sitting at 5 — the lowest reading in the index’s history, worse than the Terra/Luna meltdown, worse than the day FTX went dark — everyone is positioned for further downside. And when everyone is positioned the same way, the unwind is violent.
Crucially, bitcoin perpetual funding rates remained below neutral even as prices surged, which means this wasn’t driven by leveraged longs piling in. The Coinbase Premium Index flipped positive for the first time in weeks, signalling a genuine return of US-based spot buyers. And the kicker: US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded their strongest daily inflows since early February, confirming institutional participation in the move.
Altcoins Went Harder
Ethereum reclaimed $2,000 with a 10% surge — its first time above that level in a week. Solana, Dogecoin, Cardano and Chainlink all posted double-digit gains. Polkadot led the CoinDesk 20 index with a 17.2% advance, followed by Avalanche at 12.9%. AI agent token VIRTUAL ripped 20% in 24 hours to top the CoinDesk 80 index. ETHFI gained 10% after its CEO hinted at a stablecoin launch, and Morpho extended its 30-day run to 46% with another 15% daily move.
The altcoin season indicator hit its highest level since January. But context matters — this is a bounce from historically oversold conditions, not a rotation into risk. The total crypto market cap jumped $32 billion to $2.4 trillion, though it remains well below the $3.3 trillion resistance zone that has capped every rally attempt this year.
Circle Beat Earnings. By a Lot.
The non-liquidation story of the day: Circle, issuer of the USDC stablecoin, reported Q4 earnings per share of 43 cents — nearly triple the consensus estimate of 16 cents. The stock surged 29%. USDC issuance growth drove the beat, and the result rippled across crypto equities. Coinbase gained 13%. Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) and Galaxy both advanced 7–8%. Even bitcoin miners, which have been hammered by falling BTC prices and rising tariff-inflated hardware costs, saw 6–7% pops. Markus Thielen of 10x Research noted that many crypto-linked stocks had accumulated sizeable short interest from hedge funds, leaving them primed for exactly this kind of reversal.
How We Got Here
To understand why a single-day bounce matters, you need to understand how brutal February has been. Bitcoin entered the month around $87,000. It’s now clawing back from $63,000. From its all-time high of $126,000 in October, BTC had been down 52% at the lows — and Ethereum had shed over a third of its value year-to-date.
The macro backdrop has been relentless. On February 5, a flash crash sent BTC to $60,062 and liquidated $2.56 billion in positions. Markets tried to stabilise, but Trump’s Section 122 tariffs hit on February 22 — a 15% global levy announced hours after the Supreme Court struck down his earlier emergency tariffs. The Iran ultimatum compounded the damage. Gold surged past $5,100. Silver jumped 4% on Wednesday alone. Bitcoin, supposed to be digital gold, traded like a tech stock instead. Traders also pointed to Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night as shifting macro sentiment, with the president opening on economic themes and avoiding new tariff escalations.
Dead Cat or Double Bottom?
The chart gives both sides ammunition. Bitcoin’s weekly RSI hit 15.80 at the $60,000 low — a level not seen since the March 2020 COVID crash, which preceded a 1,400% rally. The $60,000 support has held twice in February, creating what technicians call a double bottom. And the Hash Ribbon indicator suggests one of the longest mining capitulation periods is nearing its end — historically a reliable bottoming signal.
Against that: BTC closed below the 200-week EMA for the first time in this cycle, a level that historically separates bull from bear markets. Glassnode data shows short-term holders still realising losses at roughly $500 million per day. And Ray Youssef, CEO of NoOnes, warns that Bitcoin is likely to trade sideways until summer 2026, with periodic 20–30% short-squeeze rallies that ultimately prove to be bull traps.
The Fear & Greed Index crawled from 5 to 11. Every prior reading below 12 has eventually preceded a major rally — but “eventually” meant months in 2020, a year after FTX, and two years after the 2018 winter. The $69,000 level puts BTC right at the 2021 cycle high. Reclaiming it with conviction would be a powerful statement. Failing here would confirm the bear case. The market has picked its battleground.
Sources: CoinDesk, CoinPedia, CNBC, BeInCrypto, Crypto Daily
