Bitcoin Pushes Above $62,000 After Whales Add 270,000 BTC, Forcing $130M in Short Losses
Bitcoin rebounded to a daily high of $62,137 on July 2, marking a 3% gain over 24 hours and a bright start to July after falling to a yearly low of $57,735 just 48 hours earlier. The price recovery briefly pushed Bitcoin above the $62,000 threshold before settling around $61,600, with its market capitalization climbing from $1.2 trillion to nearly $1.24 trillion, lifting the total crypto market to $2.2 trillion.
The upward move flipped the derivatives market, where liquidated short positions far exceeded long bets. According to Coinglass data, approximately $130 million in short Bitcoin positions were wiped out in a 24-hour window, compared with $50 million in long bets. Across the crypto economy, over $606 million in leveraged positions were liquidated, with short bets accounting for nearly $400 million of the total.
Behind the rally, on-chain data revealed a whale accumulation spike of 270,000 Bitcoin at roughly $59,000 — the largest single accumulation event ever recorded. Crypto analyst Scott Melker noted that this heavy buying points to a definitive market bottom. “270,000 Bitcoin accumulated by whales at $59,000. The largest single accumulation spike ever recorded on-chain. Bigger than the COVID bottom. Bigger than the FTX bottom,” Melker said.
Melker acknowledged that spot Bitcoin ETFs suffered a dismal June with $4.5 billion in net outflows. However, he argued that whales who took profits above $120,000 are now aggressively rebuying — a pattern historically seen at market bottoms, not tops.
Still, other analysts urge caution. Crypto analyst Aralez projected that worsening global economic conditions and a downturn in the S&P 500 could trigger panic and deeper volatility before a true recovery cycle takes hold, keeping sentiment negative.
While the whale accumulation signals strong demand from large holders, the mixed outlook from analysts suggests that Bitcoin’s path forward remains uncertain, with both bullish and bearish factors in play.