Bitcoin Soars to $19,000 Amid $380 Million in Liquidations

Bitcoin has returned to $19,000 for the first time since October, soaring beyond its low trading range established after FTX’s collapse.

The move has many on crypto twitter calling for a new bull market – though some believe it’s a bull trap. 

Bitcoin traded for $17,911 early on Thursday, experiencing some volatility after December’s CPI inflation clocked in at 6.5%. 
The asset pumped by roughly $1000 at about 17:35 UTC, and has maintained its elevated price level since then. By 19:47 UTC, Bitcoin had reached $19,036, before pulling back to $18,864 at writing time.
Data from Coinglass shows that the crypto market has experienced $382 million worth of liquidations within the past 24 hours, affecting over 59,000 traders, stemming from recent volatility. 
Most of these liquidations took place on ETH trades, which alone accounted for $165 million in wiped trades. 
The biggest liquidations took place on OKX, on a BTC-USDT swap with a value of $3.52 million.

#Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/8uh1DBgyec

— PlanB (@100trillionUSD) January 12, 2023

The Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index has risen from a score of 26 on Wednesday to 30 today, indicating less fear in the market. The index uses multiple signals to gauge market sentiment at all times, including price direction and social media.