At 22.00 UTC on 18 May, a burst of short covering catapulted Bitcoin to $106,980, its highest price since February. The rally lasted less than five hours. By 02:00 UTC, take-profit orders and thin weekend liquidity reversed the entire move, plunging the price toward $103,000. An additional slide to $102,300 materialised before bids stabilised the market around breakfast time in London, around $103,200.
CoinGlass data shows that the violent round-trip triggered $670 million in forced liquidations across Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and Dogecoin futures. Roughly $465 million of long positions were wiped out, while $224 million of shorts were squeezed during the initial surge.
“The most recent price action may have begun to validate the view that Bitcoin is not just the 501st company in the SPX.”
Martin Leinweber from MarketVector Indexes added,
“The damage has been done in terms of trust towards the U.S. and dollar assets … but you can’t (diversify) overnight.”
“You’re watching a political-economic realignment where Bitcoin is the release valve.
Trump, tariffs, Treasury chaos it’s all part of the shift.”
