Bitcoin, Ether, and Solana coins breaking through shattered bearish pressure

Another $1 Billion in Crypto Shorts Just Vanished—Now the Rally Faces Its Real Test

By Isaac • August 21, 2026 11:16 am • Comments

Crypto’s rally has entered the violent phase.

Bitcoin pushed toward $77,000 while Ether and Solana climbed behind it, and traders betting against the move were forced out at a staggering pace. Another roughly $1 billion in short positions disappeared in the latest wave, taking the two-day total above $4 billion.

That forced buying helped prices accelerate. It also creates the most important question in the market right now: what happens when the squeeze runs out of fuel?

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A second liquidation wave hit the bears

CoinDesk reported that another roughly $1 billion in crypto shorts had been wiped out as Bitcoin, Ether, and Solana extended their gains Friday. That followed Thursday’s record-setting liquidation burst, taking the two-day short-side total above $4 billion.

The sequence matters as much as the headline number. Thursday’s surge cleared out traders leaning against the initial breakout, yet fresh bearish leverage remained exposed when prices continued higher Friday.

Bitcoin led the move, while Ether and Solana advancing behind it showed that the forced covering had spread across several of crypto’s largest and most liquid markets. CoinDesk’s timeline makes this a continuing deleveraging event rather than one isolated bad hour for bearish traders.

Decrypt measured the newest wave at roughly $1.21 billion as Bitcoin gained about 7.9% over 24 hours and traded near $77,000. Its report tied the acceleration to favorable developments from Washington as well as the mechanical pressure created when bearish bets were closed.

A short liquidation happens when a trader borrows exposure to bet on lower prices, but the market rises far enough that the position can no longer meet its collateral requirements. The exchange then closes the trade by buying the asset back.

Thousands of those forced purchases landing together add demand to an already-rising market. Decrypt’s figures show why the latest candle moved so quickly: cash buyers were competing with traders who had no choice but to exit.

That distinction is crucial. Forced demand can ignite a breakout and punish crowded positioning, but it cannot prove that patient buyers will keep paying higher prices after the liquidation engines finish their work.

Bitcoin Magazine captured the speed of the breakout as Bitcoin cleared $75,000:

Ether and Solana joined the move

The breadth matters. A rally driven by one thinly traded token can vanish as quickly as it appears.

This move spread across the largest crypto assets.

A live CoinGecko market readback late Friday morning Central time placed Bitcoin near $76,978, up about 6.3% over 24 hours, with a market capitalization above $1.5 trillion. Ether traded near $2,387, up roughly 2.7%, while Solana changed hands around $90.94 after a gain of about 4.2%.

Those figures show buyers moving across the top of the market. Bitcoin remains the center of gravity, while capital is also reaching the two largest smart-contract networks.

That kind of participation is healthier than a narrow squeeze. It suggests buyers were willing to hold more than Bitcoin while bearish leverage was being cleared.

Still, broad participation does not prove that every part of the move came from patient, unleveraged investors. Liquidations can temporarily make demand look stronger than it will be after forced buying ends.

The squeeze changes the market’s structure

There is a constructive side to the chaos. Excessive short leverage can act like a ceiling over the market because each rally attracts another wave of traders expecting it to fail.

Once those positions are flushed, the market has less bearish leverage waiting to be forced out—but it also has fewer trapped shorts available to power the next leg higher.

That is why the next phase matters more than the liquidation headline itself.

If Bitcoin can hold the reclaimed range after the squeeze cools, the rally will have converted forced demand into a higher base. If price falls rapidly once liquidations subside, it will show that the move borrowed too much momentum from overleveraged bears.

CoinDesk highlighted that tension in a discussion with 10x Research founder Markus Thielen. Bitcoin had surged past $72,000, but Thielen argued that a market of this size would need substantially more capital and more catalysts to sustain a much larger move:

Three signals will decide whether this rally sticks

First, watch whether Bitcoin can remain above the zone it just reclaimed. A shallow consolidation would show buyers absorbing profit-taking.

A fast return below the breakout area would make the move look more like a squeeze than a durable repricing.

Second, watch Ether and Solana. If they continue holding their gains while Bitcoin pauses, the rally is broadening.

If they give back the move immediately, capital may be retreating to Bitcoin rather than committing to crypto as a whole.

Third, watch spot demand. Leveraged traders can create dramatic candles, but sustained rallies usually need cash buyers, exchange-traded funds, and longer-term allocators to keep buying after the excitement fades.

The liquidation data already delivered one clear message: traders were far too confident that the rebound would fail.

Now the market has to deliver a second one. Holding these levels without another billion dollars of forced buying would be much stronger evidence than the squeeze itself.

This article is for informational purposes only and is not financial advice.

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