Key takeaways:
Bitcoin surged 5% to $117,300 after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell hinted at an upcoming interest rate cut, liquidating $379.88 million in shorts.
Analysts say the BTC “uptrend is back,” with the potential to hit $200,000 before the end of the year.
Bitcoin
BTC
$115,618
took out the ask liquidity above $117,000 on Friday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell hinted at a potential September interest rate cut during his speech at Jackson Hole.
BTC price rose more than 4% to an intraday high of $117,300 on Bitstamp from a six-week low of $111,600.
BTC/USD hourly chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView
According to CoinGlass data, $379.88 million in short positions were liquidated, with Ether
ETH
$4,718
accounting for $193 million of that total as it soared nearly 15% to $4,760. Bitcoin followed with $56.4 million in short liquidations.
Related: Bitcoin ETFs hit 5-day losing streak, but Pomp says BTC is oversold
Across the board, a total of $629.48 million was wiped out of the market in short and long positions, as shown in the figure below.
Total crypto liquidations. Source: CoinGlass
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The sudden market recovery led to the liquidation of 150,217 traders over the period, catching many off guard as investor sentiment flipped to bullish.
The Bitcoin liquidation heatmap showed the price eating away liquidity above $117,000, with more than $259.5 million ask orders sitting between $117,000 and $118,000.
Bitcoin liquidation heatmap. Source: CoinGlass
Bitcoin analysts say “uptrend is back”
BTC’s swept lows below $112,000, providing traders with a good entry position, according to MN Capital Founder Michael van de Poppe.
Earlier in the week, van de Poppe told his X followers to be on the lookout for a sweep beneath the Aug. 3 low of $111,900 as a great area to accumulate.
“A small sweep took place and an immediate massive move upward on #Bitcoin,” he said in a X post on Friday, adding:
“Uptrend is back.”
BTC/USD four-hour chart. Source: Michael van de Poppe
Fellow analyst Jelle said that it is likely that the Bitcoin price could retrace following today’s pump, but one thing remains clear: “The market wants higher.”
It comes as several crypto industry participants recently shared forecasts for higher prices in the crypto market. Analyst BitQuant said on Monday that his cycle top target of $145,000 for Bitcoin was still in play throughout 2025.
Meanwhile, Bitwise’s head of European research André Dragosch said in Cointelegraph’s Chain Reaction daily X spaces show on Monday that US President Donald Trump’s move to allow crypto in 401(k) retirement plans could push Bitcoin to $200,000 by the end of the year
.Arizona lawmaker David Schweikert introduced the “Scam Farms Marque and Reprisal Authorization Act of 2025” in August, proposing the use of neo-privateers — state-sanctioned pirates — to target cybercriminals threatening the United States.
The bill would allow the US president to issue letters of marque to “privately armed and equipped persons” contracted by the government, authorizing them to “employ all means reasonably necessary” to seize property and detain or “punish” cybercriminals the president deems a threat.
These threats include crypto theft, pig butchering scams, ransomware attacks, identity theft, accessing computers without authorization to gather sensitive personal or classified information, online password trafficking, and compromising computers with malicious code. The bill read:
“Criminal enterprises that employ cybercrimes and coerced labor present an unusual and extraordinary threat to the economic and national security of the United States.”
The bill characterized the scams as “acts of war” perpetrated by individuals, organized criminals, and foreign governments against the US and is a revival of an 18th-century law that could have implications for the future of cybersecurity and asset seizure if passed.
Cybercrime, Hacks
The Scam Farms Marque and Reprisal Authorization Act of 2025. Source: US Congress
Related: Crypto crime unit with $250M in seizures expands with Binance
US could funnel seized assets into Bitcoin reserve and national crypto stockpile
Over $142 million in crypto was lost to hackers in July, and the total amount of crypto stolen so far in 2025 exceeds $3 billion. Stolen crypto seized by US law enforcement officials in investigations could later be forfeited to the government in court proceedings.
US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January establishing a Bitcoin and crypto reserve, which could only accumulate crypto through budget-neutral strategies or asset forfeiture.
In July, the US federal government filed a civil complaint to claim over 20 Bitcoin
BTC
$115,621
, valued at over $2.3 million, seized by the Dallas, Texas, division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) during an operation against the Chaos ransomware hacker group.
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) also seized $1 million in crypto from the BlackSuit ransomware group during the same month.
In August, the DOJ authorized the seizure of $2.8 million in crypto from a wallet controlled by Ianis Aleksandrovich Antropenko, who was charged with targeting individuals and businesses with ransomware attacks.
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