Ethereum outperformed the crypto market today, rising 8%, and a US$255 million burst of positions ro

Ethereum rebounded strongly, and bears suffered heavy losses

As the world's second-largest cryptocurrency, the price of Ethereum surged 8.3%, the largest one-day gain in three weeks. Traders who had previously bet on its decline suffered heavy losses as a result.

In the past 24 hours, the amount of short positions in Ethereum has exceeded US$255 million; during the same period, the total short losses in Bitcoin have also reached US$172 million. Normally, Bitcoin will undergo a larger leverage liquidation, but this time Ethereum took the lead. The rise came as the U.S. market was violently shaken by a series of economic data releases and falling oil prices.

The current trend is reminiscent of late August last year. At that time, Bitcoin rose sharply, triggering the largest wave of short liquidations since 2021. On Friday, Ethereum recreated this scene. Prices move so quickly that they give the impression that traders are chasing gains rather than simply a flood of spot buyers.

Long funds are returning, short positions are under pressure

Since August, many traders have chosen to wait and see. After the last large-scale leverage liquidation, the market lacked new news enough to attract everyone back. However, as prices continued to climb, about $188 million in Ethereum positions were liquidated within an hour, according to Coinglass data.

About $500 million of long and short positions across the crypto market disappeared in the past day, one of the largest single liquidations since Bitcoin's record short liquidation last month. Binance cleared approximately $76 million in Ethereum positions within 24 hours. Analysts pointed out that most of these were short positions that were forced to be closed. In addition, the funding rate for Ethereum perpetual contracts is also negative, which means that in leveraged transactions, the short party pays fees to the party holding the long position. As Ethereum prices begin to rise, the space for bears to wait for the situation to reverse has been greatly reduced.

Bitcoin rose simultaneously, but the macro environment remained complex

Bitcoin also showed an upward trend. In the past month, Bitcoin prices have risen by about 20%, regaining their footing above $80,000. However, judging from year-to-date performance, Bitcoin has still fallen nearly 10% this year. In fact, Bitcoin broke through $81,000 at the end of August and then gave up some of its gains.

The rally began when the crypto market recovered from the August 19 liquidation event, one of the largest leverage losses in recent years. Despite its huge scale, it still seems insignificant compared to the historical record of approximately US$19 billion in leveraged positions being liquidated in a one-time manner on October 10, 2025.

Inflows from Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) also increased. BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust Fund (NASDAQ: IBIT) posted net inflows of approximately $3.5 billion in the past month, leaving the fund's cumulative earnings for the year nearly flat after early outflows.

Policy expectations are still a worry about the association with technology stocks

Bitcoin still faces a structural problem: its association with technology stocks has not yet been clearly stripped. Data shows that there is still a linkage between Bitcoin's risk appetite indicators and technology stocks. When investors panic and cut back on high-risk positions, Bitcoin often finds it difficult to survive.

In addition, policy trends in Washington are also the focus of market attention. The U.S. Senate is expected to hold an important procedural vote on the Clarity Act next week. The bill aims to establish federal regulatory rules for digital assets. Although lawmakers have worked throughout the year to push the bill through Congress, decisive progress has not yet been made.

Coinbase Global (NASDAQ: COIN) CEO Brian Armstrong said in an interview with CNBC this week that he believes the bill is expected to pass as cryptocurrency companies, law enforcement agencies and multiple banks find common ground. He also mentioned that even if Congress fails to pass the bill, there are still other ways out for the industry. "Frankly, if the bill fails, it will also be a good result, because the SEC and CFTC have said they are ready to publish regulatory rules. In any case, we will eventually have regulatory clarity on the 15th or a day or two after that."

However, market forecasts are more cautious. Given that Congress has repeatedly failed in trying to pass major crypto legislation over the past year, traders there do not believe the bill will pass smoothly.