Bitcoin’s rapid surge has taken traders by surprise — nearly $400 million in short positions were liquidated in the past 24 hours, marking the highest total since November.

The leading cryptocurrency by market cap jumped over 3% within a day, surpassing $102,500 and peaking at $104,000 — the highest level since January 31. The bullish momentum was fueled by news of a major trade deal between the U.S. and the U.K., as well as record inflows into spot bitcoin ETFs, which have now exceeded $40 billion in total.

The broader market rallied as well: the total capitalization of altcoins (excluding BTC) rose by 10% to $1.14 trillion — the highest level since March 6, according to TradingView.

The sharp price increase triggered mass liquidations of bearish bets. Short positions using leverage were force-closed when account balances fell below the margin requirement. These automatic liquidations aim to prevent further losses.

According to Coinglass, $400 million in BTC shorts were wiped out in just one day, while long positions suffered significantly less — only $22 million in losses.

This sharp imbalance in liquidations suggests further bullish potential, as the market was heavily skewed toward expecting a decline.