Bitcoin (BTC) surged on Wednesday afternoon, reaching an intraday high of $76,481 on Bitstamp shortly after 3 p.m. EDT. By around 7:30 p.m., the leading cryptocurrency was trading near $75,297, still holding a strong gain for the day. The move marked a sharp rebound from the session low of $73,450, underscoring continued buying interest as momentum accelerated.
Market Cap and Volume Rise With Price Strength
According to the report, bitcoin was up more than 9% against the U.S. dollar during the session. Its market capitalization climbed to about $1.49 trillion, representing more than 59% of the total crypto market value of $2.52 trillion. On a broader time frame, BTC gained 4.4% over the past week and 21.6% over the last 30 days. Year to date, bitcoin was up 79%, while its 12-month gain stood at 115%.
Trading activity was equally notable. Total turnover across the crypto sector reached roughly $296.595 billion, with bitcoin accounting for $137.85 billion of that amount. The leading BTC trading pairs included USDT, USD, FDUSD, USDC, KRW, and EUR. The U.S. dollar contributed more than 20% of bitcoin trading activity, while the Korean won represented about 4.53%. The report also noted a discount in South Korea, where BTC on Upbit traded around $73,763, below the global average of $75,297.
Short Liquidations Intensify Derivatives Market Stress
The upward move put heavy pressure on bearish traders. Over the past 24 hours, total liquidations in the crypto derivatives market reached $611.14 million. Bitcoin short positions alone accounted for $242.11 million in losses. In total, the market wiped out $427.29 million in short positions, affecting around 142,600 traders, according to the cited data.
The single largest liquidation came from a BTC/USDT position on Binance, where losses totaled $74.98 million. At the same time, bitcoin futures open interest rose to $45.40 billion, with CME Group leading the field. Strong spot volume combined with growing open interest points to elevated investor participation, but it also suggests that liquidity swings and price volatility could remain pronounced.
ETF Activity Adds to Bullish Attention
Beyond spot and derivatives trading, activity in spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds also remained robust. The article cited data showing that 12 spot bitcoin ETFs generated a combined $6.04 billion in trading volume. With bitcoin maintaining market dominance and attracting both trading and institutional-style flows, the latest rally is reinforcing confidence in BTC while potentially shaping sentiment across the wider digital asset market.