Bitcoin saw a sharp rebound early on April 1, rising from $66,038 to as high as $68,526 within 24 hours before giving back part of the move. As of 9 a.m. Taipei time, BTC was trading at $67,395. Ether changed hands at $2,058, down about 1% over the same period. The price swing quickly fed into leveraged markets.
Short positions took the brunt of the move
Data from CoinGlass showed total crypto liquidations reached $324,813,021 over the past 24 hours. Both longs and shorts were hit, but short sellers faced heavier pressure during the latest push higher. In the past hour alone, short liquidations came in at $4.65 million, compared with $2.08 million for longs. The largest single liquidations were recorded in ETH at $1.44 million and BTC at $1.36 million.
Iran-related headlines lifted broader risk markets
The rally in crypto tracked a broader rebound across risk assets after reports said Iranian President Pezeshkian had expressed a willingness to end the war. The news sent oil prices lower and helped drive a strong advance in U.S. equities. On March 31, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.49% to 46,341, the S&P 500 gained 2.91% to 6,528, and the Nasdaq jumped 3.83% to 21,590. Those marked the biggest one-day gains for the three major indexes in nearly five months, with Bitcoin also climbing to $68,226 during the move.
Altcoins lagged behind Bitcoin
Major altcoins remained weaker than BTC. SOL traded at $81.15, down 3.5% on the day and 9.6% over seven days. XRP stood at $1.34, off 1.9% over 24 hours and down 7.5% on the week. The price action suggested short-term capital was still concentrating in Bitcoin rather than rotating broadly across the altcoin market.
Fear index stayed pinned in extreme fear
Alternative.me's Fear and Greed Index came in at 8, keeping the market in the “Extreme Fear” zone even as U.S. stocks rebounded strongly. The report also noted that Bitcoin had posted gains for five straight months, yet was still down about 20% in 2026. Long-term holders have begun selling at a loss for the first time since 2023. The next scheduled market catalysts cited were the U.S. Senate review of the CLARITY crypto bill in mid-April, the April 28-29 FOMC rate meeting, and Ethereum’s Glamsterdam upgrade scheduled for June.