$140 Million in Bitcoin Shorts Liquidated As Crypto Market Cap Hits $2.1 Trillion

The total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies has soared past $2.1 trillion, with market leaders Bitcoin and Ethereum both breaking out following a week of rather stale price action.

Bitcoin's surge has seen the leading cryptocurrency cross the $47,000 price mark, a price it hasn’t seen since the beginning of the year. With the price of Bitcoin breaking even for the year, the crypto market rally has also led to millions in liquidated short positions. 

According to data pulled from CoinGlass, an aggregator that gathers liquidation data from across the market, there has been over $142 million in Bitcoin shorts liquidated since yesterday.

Ethereum’s bullish action has led to a similar wave of liquidated shorts, costing bearish traders more than $103 million over the same period. 

Bitcoin and Ethereum are both up roughly 6% over the past 24 hours. Bitcoin is currently trading at just over $47,000, while and Ethereum is trading at around $3,340.

Filecoin and Internet Computer lead altcoin rally

Various altcoins are joining the crypto market rally. 

Of the largest gainers in the top 50 cryptocurrencies, Filecoin (FIL), Internet Computer (ICP), VeChain (VET), and EOS (EOS) have posted some of the largest gains. 

Filecoin, a decentralized data storage system akin to Dropbox, has risen over 27%, according to CoinMarketCap. With FIL currently trading at $24.68, the token is still nearly 90% down from its all-time high of $237.24 set back in April 2021. 

FIL’s uptick is primarily due to the broader bullish trend in the markets, but its price action could also be attributed to a new accelerator program launched in partnership with Techstars and Protocol Labs, the team behind both Filecoin and the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS).  

The accelerator will pair 12 different startups with Techstars’s network of mentors and investors to build blockchain projects using Filecoin. 

Likewise, Internet Computer has also jumped more than 15%. Its native token ICP is currently trading at $22.38, still a whopping 96% down from its all-time high of $750.73. The Internet Computer is a proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain that seeks to decentralize the cloud computing space currently in place. 

The token’s recent rise could be related to its founder Dominic Williams’ ambitious plan to inform the Russian population “of the real goings on in Ukraine.” 

In a Medium post, he outlined a scheme that would incentivize users to watch content about the Russian invasion. For their attention, they would be rewarded in either Bitcoin or Ethereum. Naturally, the Internet Computer would be the primary vehicle on which this plan would be executed. 

After Filecoin and Internet Computer, VeChain and EOS have also mounted large rises. 

The VET token powering the VeChain network is currently up nearly 20%, while EOS’ eponymous token is enjoying a rise of more than 16% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap. 

Given Bitcoin’s whopping market share of the entire industry, its rise has been the primary motor behind the wider recovery in the markets. 

It remains to be seen how long the bulls can maintain control, however.