Bitcoin, the flagship cryptocurrency, has soared past the much-coveted $26,000 level, to the great delight of bulls.
Earlier today, it peaked at $26,553 on the Bitstamp exchange. This marks a year-to-date high for the world's largest cryptocurrency.
Based on data provided by the crypto analytics platform Coinglass, crypto bears have had a rough day, with a significant number of liquidations over the past 24 hours totaling $314.24 million.
The majority of these liquidations were on the short side, with 83.01% of the liquidations being short positions.
Binance, the world's largest exchange by reported trading volumes, had the highest number of liquidations at $99.92 million, with 77.38% of those being shorts. OKX had the second-highest number of liquidations at $76.98 million, with 89.62% of those being shorts.
The cryptocurrency's resurgence comes as the United States is experiencing a banking crisis. The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and the seizure of Signature Bank caused widespread market panic about wider contagion.Bitcoin has been seen as a safe haven asset in times of financial turmoil, and the recent banking crisis has fueled its price surge.
The cryptocurrency is now changing hands above the $26,000 mark for the first time since July 2022.