Data show Bitcoin futures traders are pursuing overhead short positions, raising the chance of a rally to $80,000.

A liquidity imbalance in Bitcoin (BTC) is building near $80,000, with more than $4 billion in short positions vulnerable to liquidation above that level. The setup strengthened after Bitcoin defended support near $76,100 for two days and formed bullish signals on the lower time frames.

On the one-hour chart, Bitcoin formed a bullish divergence between the price and the relative strength index (RSI), with improving momentum and higher lows near $76,100, suggesting underlying buying strength. BTC also retested $78,000 on Thursday after defending the $76,100 support level multiple times this week.

BTC/USDT, one-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The price action is also shaping an inverse head-and-shoulders setup beneath a descending trendline, a structure that often signals weakening bearish pressure before a breakout. A move above $78,000 could expose the fair-value gap (FVG) between $79,500 and $80,300, a low-liquidity price zone created during a sharp prior selloff that BTC price could revisit to fill the untraded range before continuing its next move.

CoinGlass liquidation data show that the largest concentration of leveraged risk is above current price levels. A move toward $80,000 would expose more than $4 billion in cumulative short positions. By comparison, a decline toward $75,000 would expose roughly $3 billion in long liquidations.

This indicates that short sellers face greater pressure than bullish positions if BTC continues to climb.

Related: Bitcoin accumulation trends weaken as realized losses jump to $600M

BTC liquidation activity has already accelerated over the past 24 hours. CoinGlass data recorded 103,963 liquidated traders, with total liquidations reaching $286.08 million. Short positions accounted for nearly $175 million of the total, while the largest single liquidation hit Binance’s BTCUSDT pair at $3.04 million.

Open interest in Bitcoin term. Source: CryptoQuant

CryptoQuant data showed Bitcoin-denominated open interest near 116,800 BTC, down from 120,000 BTC a day earlier. The lower open interest indicates traders closed part of their leveraged exposure during recent volatility. That usually points to more controlled derivatives activity rather than overheated speculation.

Spot market participation stayed weak during Bitcoin’s recovery toward $78,000. The aggregated spot cumulative volume delta (CVD), which tracks net buying and selling pressure, stood at -$483 million. The futures CVD turned slightly positive around $34 million, while funding rates remained elevated, indicating a bullish skew in the short term.

BTC price, aggregated funding rate, futures, and spot CVD. Source: Velo chart

The split between weak spot demand and marginally strong futures activity shows leveraged traders are driving the recent upside. The liquidity concentration above $80,000 now stands as the clearest near-term retest level.

Related: SpaceX reveals larger-than-expected Bitcoin holdings in IPO filing

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/markets/bitcoin-liquidity-imbalance-eyes-a-sharp-rally-to-80k-next-heres-why?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound