Bitcoin price rally to $42K driven by spot volumes, not BTC futures liquidations

Bitcoin futures data counters the assumption that BTC’s rally to $42,000 was primarily propelled by shorts liquidations. What is next for BTC?

In the past seven days, Bitcoin (BTC) experienced a whopping 14.5% surge, hitting a 20-month high at $41,130 by Dec.

The impact of the recent liquidations in Bitcoin futures markets

While the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) trades USD-settled contracts for Bitcoin futures, where no physical Bitcoin changes hands, these futures markets undoubtedly play a crucial role in shaping spot prices.

In the same seven-day period, a mere $200 million worth of BTC futures shorts were liquidated, representing only 1% of the total outstanding contracts.

Bitcoin futures aggregate open interest and volume, USD. Source: Coinglass

Even when focusing solely on the CME, which is known for potential trading volume inflation, its daily volume of $2.67 billion should have readily absorbed a $100 million 24-hour liquidation.

One could attempt to gauge the extent of liquidations at different price levels using tape reading techniques.

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