In the past 24 hours, Bitcoin managed to reach its highest level of the year, briefly exceeding $45,800 due to rising expectations that regulatory approval for US-based spot Bitcoin ETF applications could be granted soon. At the time of writing, the largest crypto asset by market value had experienced a slight pullback, trading at $45,317.
Surge in Crypto Market Driven by Liquidation of Short Positions
The recent increase in the crypto market led to the significant liquidation of short positions on centralized exchanges. Volatility resulted in the liquidation of over $81 million in Bitcoin positions, including $73.2 million worth of short positions.
According to data from the blockchain data analysis platform CoinGlass, the overall crypto market saw more than $133 million in liquidated short positions in the last 24 hours, contributing to a total liquidation of $177 million across various centralized exchanges.
Liquidations in futures markets occur when a trader’s position is forcibly closed because there are insufficient funds to cover the losses. This situation arises when market movements are unfavorable for the investor’s position, leading to the exhaustion of the initial margin or collateral.
Final Stretch for ETF Applications
The global crypto market value reached $1.84 trillion on January 2nd, showing a 5.26% increase over the last 24 hours. The expectation that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will approve several spot Bitcoin ETF applications could be a factor in the current upward movement of the entire crypto market.
A weekend report by Reuters revealed that the regulatory body could start notifying about the approval status of ETF applications as early as January 2nd.
The report indicated that the SEC could inform other asset managers about the approval or disapproval of their applications by January 2nd or 3rd, ahead of the final decision date of January 10th for the spot Bitcoin ETF proposed by Ark Investments and 21Shares. These asset managers include firms such as Valkyrie, Bitwise, WisdomTree, Franklin Templeton, BlackRock, VanEck, and Invesco.
