Bitcoin soared over $3,000 in just four hours on July 19, with renewed volatility sending crypto markets higher.
According to data provided by Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView, the weekend of July 19 was a nightmare for short-term traders, with BTC/USD suddenly rising from $63,303 to $66,506.
At the time of publication, the uptrend continued after BTC/USD hit an intraday high of $66,773 on Bitstamp.
Independent Caleb Franzen reacted to Bitcoin (BTC)’s rapid rally over the past few hours, saying, “#Bitcoin’s new short-term high suggests that the recent sequence of higher highs and lower lows (uptrend behavior) is still intact.”
“This is a constructive price action, with major breakouts above structural and dynamic levels. Bulls are increasingly regaining firm control over price.”
This week, day traders’ attention was focused on the bulls, as seller fatigue and the failed assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump sent prices soaring to just below $65,000.
Those who bet that the correction would continue suffered big losses on July 19. Today’s rally resulted in the liquidation of $40.83 million worth of short positions in just four hours, for a total of $131.65 million wiped out over 24 hours.
CoinGlass’ Bitcoin liquidations heatmap shows that at the time of writing, BTC is continuing to break through overhead sell liquidity, with $83.38 million in sell orders between $66,880 and $67,000 at risk of being liquidated in the short term.
Related: Bitcoin Bull Runs Towards $66,000 as BTC Price Reaches 1-Month High
Bitcoin Retail Demand Hits 3-Year Low
MN Capital founder Michael van de Poppe says Bitcoin retail demand is at its lowest in three years, reflecting current market sentiment.
The steady inflow into Bitcoin investment products, including spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), suggests that BTC demand is primarily coming from institutional investors.
Van de Poppe shared a CryptoQuant chart showing that retail demand for Bitcoin has been declining since its all-time high in March. He said now is the time for this indicator to “reverse” for Bitcoin.
Market analysts believe that Bitcoin’s bull run is largely driven by retail investors who have not yet returned to the market.
“A true bull market usually starts with massive buying volume driven by retail investors,” Woo Min-kyu, author of CryptoQuant, declared in a July 17 post.
“And we haven’t seen this scale yet from retail investors.”
The long-term outlook is positive, with analysts predicting that if BTC enters a sharp uptrend, the Bitcoin price could surpass $200,000.
This article does not contain any investment advice or recommendations. All investment and trading moves involve risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making decisions.