Last Updated on October 24, 2023 by Bitfinsider

According to data from CoinGecko, the largest cryptocurrency by market value had a second wind hours after a Monday morning rally that saw the price of Bitcoin soar beyond $31,000, exceeding $34,000 later in the day.

According to analytics company CoinGlass, the new benchmark caused a wave of BTC short sales that resulted in the liquidation of $114 million in BTC in the last hour and $145 million in total across all crypto assets. The new benchmark hit a record high for 2023 and reached values not seen since last May.

BTC was trading at a premium closer to $35,000 on prominent cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase.

Building excitement around the Securities and Exchange Commission’s impending approval of Bitcoin spot ETF applications has been cited as the cause of the two rallies to start the week.

A Washington, D.C. judge officially ordered the SEC to reexamine Grayscale’s long-delayed and contentious application for a spot Bitcoin ETF earlier today after the regulatory body failed to reply to a prior court inquiry.

BlackRock, a major player in the global investment industry, updated its own application today to announce that it has begun allocating assets and acquiring a ticker symbol in preparation for the launch of its Bitcoin spot ETF. Although the actions don’t guarantee an approval, they do show that the SEC is certain it will happen soon.

According to cryptocurrency analysts, both price peaks have broken through market resistance levels at $31,000 and $34,000, respectively, which is a bullish indication. Rekt Capital, a well-known cryptocurrency Twitter commenter, claims that the price movement is likely to refute the “Bearish Bitcoin Fractal,” a pricing theory that presupposes price might rise to record highs before further downside forces it back down.