Cryptocurrency Bitcoin rises above $75,000

Cryptocurrency Bitcoin traded around $74,700 on August 21 after briefly climbing above $75,000 during Asian trade, extending a rally that began after the US Treasury announced an expansion of its buybacks of longer-dated government debt.

The move helped push Treasury yields lower and improve liquidity conditions for riskier assets, including cryptocurrencies, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

While the rally has been supported by broader market factors, one warning sign is becoming increasingly difficult to overlook: forced short covering accounted for an unusually large share of the initial surge.

More than $3 billion in crypto short positions were liquidated during the rally.

Ethereum rose 5.29% to $2,370.54.

Cryptocurrency exchanges liquidated positions held by more than 159,000 traders over the past 24 hours, totalling $1.43 billion. Of this, $902 million involved Bitcoin, while $1.25 billion involved short positions. 

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov