Bitcoin tests $65,000 after a wave of liquidations

Bitcoin Faces A Key $65,000 Test After A Sharp Price Surge

9h35 ▪6min read ▪ byLuc Jose A.
Getting informed▪Bitcoin (BTC)Summarize this article with:

Bitcoin abruptly jumped this Tuesday, August 18, to the $65,000 mark. This movement caught short sellers off guard, heavily exposed in derivative markets. The rise now faces a concentration of sell orders likely to slow down BTC. Meanwhile, on-chain data shows long-term accumulation, notably on the side of institutional players. Two opposing dynamics could influence Bitcoin’s next trajectory.

In brief

• Bitcoin suddenly crosses $65,000, triggering the liquidation of $56 million of short positions.
• The high concentration of sell orders at $65,000 and the fear index slow down an immediate breakout.
• Anthony Scaramucci and Glassnode highlight a limited retreat to 55% and massive purchases by the “strong hands.”

Under the pressure of derivatives, the sudden push of the price to a local high

Bitcoin’s return to the $65,000 level occurred through a particularly unstable sequence. After reaching the $64,000 mark Monday afternoon, the leading crypto held above $64,200 until two hours before midnight, when a selling push almost caused it to fall below $64,000. A stabilization phase followed, marked by tight fluctuations between $64,300 and $64,000 for nearly ten hours.

It was finally during the morning that the market flipped. In one hour, the asset injected around $1,000 to reach $65,000, before slightly retreating to $64,744. Despite this scenario, Bitcoin shows a daily gain of 0.5% and a weekly rise of over 2%, pushing its market capitalization near $1.3 trillion. This movement unfolded even as the international context remained tense in the Middle East following the expiration of the 60-day memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran.

On the derivatives markets side, the violence of this $1,000 rise translated into a real cleanup of heavily leveraged short positions. According to the data, price movements over 24 hours led to the liquidation of $56 million in short Bitcoin positions, compared to only $4 million for long positions.

On the global crypto market scale, buy bets nonetheless accounted for $108 million of total liquidations recorded. The start of this gradual rise also coincides with the official communication from Strategy, which revealed that it sold no Bitcoin during the past week, providing direct psychological support to order books.

Several numerical indicators summarize the extent and immediate impact of this sequence on markets :

• $65,000 : the local peak briefly reached Tuesday morning after a $1,000 rise in one hour ;
• $56 million : total amount of short positions liquidated in 24 hours according to Coinglass ;
• $1.3 trillion : the market capitalization level reached again by Bitcoin during this push ;
• 0.5% and +2% : gains recorded respectively over the day and over the entire week.

Facing the resistance at $65,000, increased hesitation among investors

While the purge of short positions provided spectacular relief to buyers, several analysts urge great caution regarding the market’s ability to achieve a clean breakout. The presence of a strong concentration of sell orders immediately around $65,000 constitutes a major technical barrier, indicating that a durable crossing and a true breakout are not guaranteed in the very short term.

This marked market reservation is directly reflected in sentiment indicators. The Crypto Fear and Greed Index currently stagnates at a level of 41, reflecting an area of fear still well anchored among ordinary investors despite the recent rise. The inability to maintain the peak reached Tuesday afternoon illustrates operators’ caution, who prefer to secure their gains in face of the density of sell blocks positioned on this pivotal threshold.

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Behind the moderation of declines, signals of institutional accumulation of Bitcoin

A broader view of the market structure nevertheless offers a diametrically different perspective on the situation. Anthony Scaramucci, founder of Skybridge Capital, strongly nuances the prevailing pessimism by stating: “This is clearly a bear market for Bitcoin, yet we have seen only a 55% decline, whereas in previous bear markets, the retreat reached 75 to 80%. This is paradoxically a very good sign; it suggests that many net buyers are already positioning themselves in view of the next bullish phase.”

The data tells a different story from the bear-market headlines.

This is a clear Bitcoin bear market, and yet we've only had a 55% drop, whereas in other bear markets you've gotten a 75-80% drop.

That's weirdly a good sign; it suggests many net buyers are already positioning… pic.twitter.com/wy7gtlmC4r

— Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) August 18, 2026

This observation of a retreat much more contained than during historical cycles finds direct resonance in on-chain metrics published by the firm Glassnode. The analyst notes an increased presence of “strong hands,” emphasizing that market bottoms generally form when profit-taking slows down in favor of conviction investors. Glassnode also recalls that the strongest expansion of the volume of bitcoins held by these players occurred when the asset dropped to $60,000 last January, drawing a configuration similar to that seen in 2022.

The mitigation of corrections compared to previous cycles supports the thesis of a structural maturity change of the asset, driven by a silent accumulation by institutional players as soon as the price approaches major value zones. While macroeconomic uncertainties require strict vigilance in the short term, the convergence of on-chain data and corporate treasury retention suggests that Bitcoin is consolidating the bases of a solid floor, turning every volatility episode into an opportunity to transfer to more patient hands.

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Luc Jose A.

Diplômé de Sciences Po Toulouse et titulaire d’une certification consultant blockchain délivrée par Alyra, j’ai rejoint l’aventure Cointribune en 2019.
Convaincu du potentiel de la blockchain pour transformer de nombreux secteurs de l’économie, j’ai pris l’engagement de sensibiliser et d’informer le grand public sur cet écosystème en constante évolution. Mon objectif est de permettre à chacun de mieux comprendre la blockchain et de saisir les opportunités qu’elle offre. Je m’efforce chaque jour de fournir une analyse objective de l’actualité, de décrypter les tendances du marché, de relayer les dernières innovations technologiques et de mettre en perspective les enjeux économiques et sociétaux de cette révolution en marche.

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the author, and should not be taken as investment advice. Do your own research before taking any investment decisions.

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