Bitcoin Nears $80,000 With $1.4 Billion in Shorts, Raising Squeeze Risk

Bitcoin is extending its rebound after holding above $76,000, but a heavy buildup of short positions near $80,000 has brought the market to a key near-term turning point.

Cointelegraph, citing CoinGlass data on April 27, reported that about $1.4 billion of leveraged short positions had accumulated around the $80,000 level over the past 48 hours. If Bitcoin breaks through that zone, short liquidations could fuel further gains.

Bearish bets have also persisted in the perpetual futures market. Bitcoin's annualized funding rate for perpetual futures has remained in negative territory for most of the past two weeks.

That indicates short positions are outweighing longs and shows traders are placing greater weight on the risk of a near-term decline.

The options market is also flashing caution over downside risk. Bitcoin options delta skew shows put options trading at roughly an 11% premium to calls.

That suggests whales and market makers are hedging against a short-term pullback.

Still, demand in the spot market continues to support prices. Strategy bought an additional $255 million of Bitcoin between April 20 and April 26, while US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded $824 million of net inflows over the same period.

Taken together, spot demand is helping sustain Bitcoin's rebound, while the large concentration of short positions near $80,000 remains the key variable for near-term price moves. A break above that level could trigger a short squeeze and accelerate the advance, while another rejection could heighten pressure for a short-term correction.