Bitcoin surged to the $69,000 range on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, recording a 7% gain in just one hour. The sudden price jump triggered a domino effect that devastated traders betting on a price decline. Within the same 60-minute window, crypto exchanges were forced to liquidate $1.1 billion worth of short positions.
Total daily liquidations ballooned to $1.31 billion, wiping out the capital of 112,004 traders. Three large players were the hardest hit in the Bitcoin market: wallet 0x8c96 lost $117 million from a short position of 1,800 BTC, wallet 0x431f lost $44 million on 677 BTC, and wallet 0x004e saw $33 million vanish from 500 BTC. In the Ethereum market, a single order worth $32.18 million on the Bitget exchange was also liquidated.
The collapse of these positions was no coincidence. It is a classic short squeeze cycle: forced liquidations require exchanges to buy back assets in the spot market to cover the ruined positions. This massive buying pressure pushes the price even higher, which in turn triggers the system to sweep the next layer of shorts.
Crucial Meeting at the White House
This sudden rally was fueled by a double fundamental trigger from the capital. In Washington, the White House hosted a meeting attended by President Trump, SEC Chair Atkins, CFTC Chair Selig, alongside top executives from Coinbase, Ripple, and Kalshi. They gathered at the table to discuss rules for the crypto market structure - a meeting that was immediately received positively by the market.
At the same time, the minutes of the July US Federal Reserve (Fed) meeting were released to the public on Wednesday. Upon reading the document, traders immediately cut their bets on an interest rate hike, which had previously reached an 80% probability.
This combination of political and macroeconomic sentiment reversed the direction of capital flows within days. Spot Bitcoin ETF products recorded positive inflows again this week after being hit by a wave of outflows. Prediction market sentiment also improved, indicating a 72% chance that Bitcoin will break the $70,000 mark before the end of the month.
Milder Drawdown Pattern
On the technical side, Bitcoin has now climbed back above the 200-day moving average (MA) line, although its price is still far from its all-time high of $126,000 set in October 2025.
SkyBridge founder Anthony Scaramucci views this movement as a sign that the hard times will soon be over. He stated that the Bitcoin bear market is nearly finished, noting that this drawdown only hovered around 55%. This figure is much milder compared to previous downturn cycles, which saw drops of 75-80% from the peak.
For daily traders, the 60-minute event that burned $1.1 billion provides a costly lesson on market volatility. Going against the trend when policymakers begin drafting new regulations often ends with accounts being forcibly drained by the system. As reported by Decrypt.
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Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only, not financial advice. Cryptocurrency assets are highly volatile and carry significant risk. Always do your own research (DYOR) and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
