Bitcoin Jumps 4.2% to $64,913 High as Short Sellers Capitulate

Bitcoin News

Bitcoin (BTC) staged a sharp intraday reversal on July 14, climbing from below $63,000 to an intraday high of $64,913 before settling near $64,500 — a 4.2% daily advance. The move, which our desk tracked live through the morning session, gathered pace after 8:30 a.m. Eastern, when BTC leapt from just under $62,900 to $64,000 within an hour, then consolidated and pushed higher. The rally carried Bitcoin’s market value past $1.29 trillion and lifted the total crypto market capitalization above $2.3 trillion, marking a multi-week high for the leading digital asset after several sessions of range-bound trading beneath the $63,000 mark.

The surge inflicted heavy damage on bearish traders. Derivatives data shows the upswing triggered roughly $105 million in forced short liquidations against just $8 million in long liquidations, as leveraged sellers were squeezed out of their positions. Across the broader crypto market, total liquidations reached approximately $377 million over 24 hours, with short positions accounting for about $277 million of that figure. The lopsided wipeout underscores how positioning had leaned bearish into the move, leaving little cushion when spot prices accelerated. Such a concentrated bearish unwind often amplifies upside velocity, as covering flows compound the initial breakout momentum.

A cooler-than-expected inflation print helped set the stage for the advance. The U.S. Consumer Price Index fell 0.4% month-over-month in June, according to official data — the largest single-month decline since April 2020 and well below the 0.1% dip economists had penciled in. On an annual basis, inflation slowed to 3.5%, easing for the first time in five months. Falling energy costs drove the drop, offsetting rising food and shelter prices. The softer reading reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will leave interest rates unchanged at its next policy meeting, a backdrop that historically supports risk assets like Bitcoin.

Beneath the headline number, core inflation — which strips out volatile food and energy prices — clocked in at 2.6% over the 12 months through June, down from 2.9% the prior month. Analysts framed the data as the first concrete sign that the spring’s energy-driven price impulse is fading rather than broadening across the economy. Sygnum chief investment officer Fabian Dori characterized the figures as a hopeful marker for digital assets. With bond yields retreating and equity indices steadying after the release, traders grew more confident that policymakers would hold rates steady, easing the pressure that tighter money typically exerts on crypto valuations.

Curiously, the rally unfolded in near-silence. On-chain sentiment data shows total crypto social-media commentary fell to roughly 41,800 mentions on July 13, the second-lowest reading since October 2024. As Bitcoin approached the $65,000 threshold, the crowd enthusiasm, FOMO and elevated chatter that usually accompany a run at major resistance were conspicuously absent. Muted social volume cuts two ways: it can signal weak retail demand, but it also often appears near local bottoms when smaller traders have capitulated and larger players accumulate quietly. A stealth advance through $65,000, in this reading, could reignite altcoin attention only after the fact.

Geopolitics remained a persistent overhang even as prices climbed. A third consecutive night of U.S. airstrikes on Iranian targets kept energy markets tense, with Brent crude holding above $85 a barrel after touching $87 intraday and West Texas Intermediate trading just under $80. Renewed friction over sovereignty around the Strait of Hormuz revived global supply-shortage fears, dimming hopes for near-term rate cuts. Ethereum outpaced Bitcoin during the session, rising 5.4% to around $1,890, keeping one analyst’s $100,000 quarter-end target for BTC narrowly within reach despite the fading prospect of monetary easing before year-end.

COINOTAG’s proprietary 42-indicator composite scoring engine rates the $64,390 support at 100/100, driven by the confluence of the SMA 50, a MACD bullish cross and a high-volume node. On the upside, our engine scores the $67,300 resistance at 92/100 — a former support flip reinforced by the Fibonacci 0.382 retracement and EMA 100 — with $65,153 (87/100, anchored by the EMA 50 and Bollinger upper band) as the nearer hurdle. Derivatives read constructive: perpetual funding sits at 0.0068%, open interest at $12.6 billion, and the long/short account ratio at 1.30 (56.6% long). Yet the Fear & Greed Index at 22 signals Extreme Fear. A daily close below $62,886 would invalidate the bullish thesis.