Bitcoin extended its rally Tuesday, rallying above $75,000 to hit its highest level since early February as a wave of short-covering swept through major crypto markets.
CoinGecko showed BTC trading near $75,829, reclaiming prices last seen on Feb. 5. Renewed optimism about possible U.S.–Iran negotiations — spurred by comments from President Donald Trump indicating openness to a deal with Tehran — helped lift sentiment across the sector and pushed total crypto market capitalization to about $2.63 trillion.
The sharp upside forced a spate of liquidations. Data from CoinGlass recorded more than $530 million in crypto liquidations over the past 24 hours, with the majority of losses suffered by traders holding short positions. Bitcoin accounted for roughly $282 million of those liquidations, about $262 million tied to shorts. Ethereum saw near $187 million liquidated, including approximately $153 million from bearish bets.
Institutional holdings were also affected. Michael Saylor’s Strategy fund, which holds about 780,897 BTC purchased at an average cost near $75,577 per coin, moved toward breakeven as the price climbed above that level after briefly dipping below $75,000 in early February.
At press time, Bitcoin was up about 3.9% over 24 hours and roughly 10.7% for the week. Market participants are eyeing $80,000 as the next major resistance level — a psychological barrier that could determine whether the rebound evolves into a more sustained bull run. On-chain analyst Willy Woo said a clean break above $80,000 would be an important signal for continued upside.