Crypto market liquidations hit $820M as Bitcoin taps $78K

Nearly $820 million in leveraged crypto positions were liquidated in the 24 hours ending Friday evening, as Bitcoin's price rallied above $78,000 on the back of a Middle East ceasefire and ETF inflows. Cointelegraph cites Coinglass data showing that roughly 72% of the liquidations were short positions — the largest imbalance toward shorts since the January low. Ether, Solana and Dogecoin led altcoin gains, each up more than 6%. The magnitude of short liquidations suggests traders had positioned aggressively for further downside before Iran's Hormuz announcement caught them offside.