Bitcoin (BTC) held closer to $40,000 on December 3 after weekend gains reinforced a “strong” uptrend.
BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: TradingView
Bitcoin leaves $60 million hanging on shorts
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed a fresh BTC price surge, taking BTC/USD to new 2023 highs of $39,730.
These built on the upward momentum that had begun days earlier, when Bitcoin hit $39,000 for the first time since mid-2022.
As the derivatives trading week neared the end on Wall Street, commentators had argued that spot buyers needed to step up to maintain momentum. Ultimately, events took an unexpected turn as a sudden surge in Bitcoin and altcoins obliterated previous resistance.
In part of the coverage on X (formerly Twitter), popular trader Skew reported recommended that “someone just ran all the shorts across the board on most pairs.”
This, in turn, caused BTC price behavior to hover around the weekly open in question – CME Bitcoin futures closed the week at $39,225, leaving a gap between that value and the spot price that is usually marked by a decline ” “would be filled”.
However, analyzing the status quo, his fellow trader Daan Crypto Trades predicted that things would be different this time.
“Whenever $BTC is in a strong trend (up or down) and especially when it is trading at yearly highs or price discovery. There are often weekend parades that break out and leave a lot of people behind. Often a gap arises that is never closed or only filled weeks later,” part of one X contribution explained.
“In strong trending environments, trading the CME price no longer has much advantage. With the side chop it’s fantastic, but not like this.”
Annotated BTC/USD chart with CME futures price data. Source: Daan Crypto Trades/X
Daan Crypto Trades agreed that the area around Friday’s closing price provided an opportunity to “catch” short sellers.
“As I felt there was likely to be a big move over the weekend, I did not share the usual CME chart. So far the suspicion has been correct and people who tried to stop this move would have been reprimanded,” he wrote.
Data from statistics source CoinGlass showed that around $30 million in BTC shorts were liquidated on both December 1st and 2nd.
BTC liquidation chart (screenshot). Source: CoinGlass
BTC price in “all-the-way-UP mode”
Meanwhile, with an eye on $40,000, market participants turned their attention to bullish signals on longer time frames.
Related: Bitcoin ETF Will Drive 165% BTC Price Surge in 2024 – Standard Chartered
For popular Twitter commentator Alan Tardigrade, BTC/USD was well outside of a descending channel that has existed since its all-time high of $69,000 in November 2021.
“Bitcoin has entered all-the-way-UP mode,” he said commented on a chart showing how recent BTC price action has decisively exited the trend.
BTC/USD comparison chart. Source: Alan Tardigrade/X
Fellow commentator BitQuant, known for his bullish views on Bitcoin in the current environment, is hoping for a return to highs before “any correction” could occur.
Both perspectives channeled the behavior of previous Bitcoin bull markets.
Yes, to the previous all-time highs and then a correction so the bears can gain some hope https://t.co/2ovCs4mvGi
– BitQuant (@BitQua) December 3, 2023
In September, BitQuant made the bold prediction that BTC/USD would surpass its record highs before the next block subsidy halving in April 2024 – just four months away.
This article does not contain any investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading activity involves risks and readers should conduct their own research when making their decision.