- Bitcoin reached highs of $23,342 on Binance, and a breakout above $22,000 has extended its year-to-date gains.
- BTC is up roughly 30% over the past month and has recovered about 47% since the $15,500 low.
- Short liquidations totaled approximately $376 million in the last 24 hours.
Bitcoin surged above $23,000 on Saturday morning, topping out at $23,342 on Binance — levels not seen since mid‑August 2022. After pulling back from the intraday peak, BTC was trading near $22,900 at the time of writing, roughly 9% higher over the previous 24 hours.
Over the last 30 days Bitcoin’s price has climbed about 35%, and according to crypto analyst Rekt Capital, the rally represents a roughly 47% recovery from the $15,500 low that followed the FTX sell‑off.
Bitcoin price chart showing BTC rally to $23,000 on 21 January, 2023. Source: TradingView
On‑chain analytics provider Santiment noted that the recent price advance coincided with increased accumulation by large holders. According to Santiment’s chart, whale addresses holding between 1,000 and 10,000 BTC accumulated more than 64,638 BTC — a position worth over $1.46 billion — in the prior two weeks.
Over $376 million in shorts liquidated
As Bitcoin pushed toward $23,350, liquidation trackers showed a large number of leveraged positions were closed. In the past 24 hours approximately 80,497 traders were liquidated.
Coinglass data reported the largest single short liquidation occurred on BitMEX, where a $4.53 million position was wiped out. Total liquidations as of 06:10 a.m. ET on January 21 reached about $376.61 million.
While these liquidation figures are significant, they remain below the levels recorded when BTC/USD first reclaimed $20,000 last week and erased much of the post‑FTX decline. The current activity nevertheless highlights how many traders remain wary of a potential bull trap.
Looking ahead, continued momentum could push Bitcoin toward the $25,000 area or higher, especially if broader risk‑on sentiment supports further buying pressure across crypto and other markets.