Bitcoin climbed back above $93,000 on Wednesday in a broad rally in the crypto market, recouping some of the steep losses that sparked nearly half a billion dollars in liquidations on Monday.
The move provided some relief after a chaotic start to the week, although the termination does little to calm nerves after a series of structural shocks across the market.
Bitcoin rose more than 7% over the past 24 hours to trade near $93,360 by morning Asian hours, reversing some of the heavy selling that pushed the asset below $84,000 on Monday. Ether gained more than 9% to regain the $3,000 level. Solana, Cardano, XRP and several other large-cap tokens showed double-digit gains, with SOL and ADA each rising more than 12%.
The rally followed a washout in derivatives markets, with about $457 million in short positions liquidated in the past 24 hours. Bitcoin accounted for $224 million of the total, while Ether added another $94 million, according to Coinglass data.
The shakeout cleared much of the leveraged positioning built up during the recent decline.
But sentiment remains cautious despite the recovery. Bitcoin’s selloff earlier in the week coincided with thinning weekend liquidity and spillover from macro jitters, creating a volatile backdrop that amplified price swings.
The broader market is still digesting concerns linked to corporate balance sheet exposure, including sharp declines in strategy-linked ETFs and the pending MSCI methodology review – both of which have weighed on risk appetite in recent sessions.
Tuesday’s rise was aided by a handful of incremental catalysts.
The market saw renewed optimism after comments from US Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins, who said the agency plans to detail the framework behind a proposed “innovation exemption” for companies with digital assets.
It was seen as a step towards clarity in the legislation after months of deadlock. Vanguard’s decision this week to allow trading of crypto-focused ETFs and mutual funds on its platform also helped lift sentiment after a long stretch of outflows.
Still, the structure of the recovery suggests that it is primarily a relief move rather than a trend change. Market depth remains uneven and several major tokens are recovering from multi-week lows.
The next test is whether spot demand can sustain the move as derivatives markets wind down from the liquidation cycle.
