Bitcoin Bulls Flex as BTC Breaks $75K, Sending Shorts Into Liquidation Hell

Bitcoin continued its relentless march upward early Tuesday, punching through the $75,000 barrier and visiting price territories not seen since the halving hype of early February. For bears who decided to short BTC and various other leading cryptocurrencies—well, they're currently busy counting their wounds and questioning their life choices as liquidation notifications flood their phones like angry exes.

The flagship crypto was recently trading at $75,834, per CoinGecko data, marking its first victory lap above the $75K threshold since March 16 and its highest altitude since those glorious first days of February when everyone thought $100K was merely a formality. Spoiler: it still might be.

Bitcoin posted a respectable 5.5% gain over the last 24 hours, with a solid 10%+ climb over the past week. But here's the plot twist—other majors are absolutely smoking the flagship coin during this span, playing catch-up in a way that makes you wonder if BTC's dominance is more of a suggestion than a rule.

Ethereum is sitting pretty at $2,384, up nearly 8% on the daily and more than 14% on the week. HYPE, the native token of decentralized exchange Hyperliquid, is absolutely blasting off at $44 after a ridiculous 22% weekly pop—someone at Hyperliquid is definitely buying rounds tonight. And in a plot twist nobody saw coming, privacy coin Zcash (ZEC) is back on its grind, up nearly 38% this week to $366, because apparently Monero wasn't the only privacy play getting spicy.

Crypto's recent funk appears to be thawing faster than a frozen pizza in a microwave. Tuesday's rally has generated a liquidation avalanche exceeding $600 million in the last day, according to CoinGlass data—and shorts are bearing the brunt of this violence like a punching bag at a MMA gym. Of that total, over $488 million came from short positions, because nothing says "conviction trade" like getting absolutely flattened by a green candle.

Bitcoin liquidations alone hit $272 million, with $262 million coming from shorts—because why bet against the king when the king is on a heater? Ethereum follows at $140 million, with $121 million from shorts. At this point, short sellers are basically donating to the bull cause. Consider it a voluntary wealth transfer.

Crypto-linked stocks are also glowing green, with stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) up 11% and Ethereum treasury firm Sharplink (SBET) gaining 10%. Even the TradFi weirdos are getting in on the action—how times have changed.

So what's fueling this magnificent move? Risk-on sentiment is building as geopolitical tensions ease, including a tentative ceasefire between the U.S./Israel and Iran. Crypto ETFs just logged their best week since January, while Strategy scooped up another $1 billion in Bitcoin via its STRC preferred shares—because Michael Saylor simply cannot stop, will not stop, might literally never stop. Meanwhile, BitMine Immersion Technologies made its largest weekly ETH purchase since December, because even the little guys want in on the action.

Bitcoin is now up roughly 13% since February 28, reinforcing its safe-haven narrative during times of crisis like a digital gold that actually delivers on its promises. The S&P 500 also closed Monday with a 1% gain, marking its highest daily close since the U.S.-Iran conflict escalated. In times of geopolitical uncertainty, it seems, the market remembers who the real hedge is.