Bitcoin surged past $71,000 on Thursday, climbing 11.43% in 24 hours to roughly $71,730.46 at press time. The rally came as traders piled into bets that the CLARITY Act will pass, and President Trump's push for approval added fuel to the fire. Short sellers got caught off guard, with liquidations surpassing $3 billion.
Why the rally happened
The move wasn't just technical. Hype around the CLARITY Act has been building for weeks, but Thursday's breakout came after Trump publicly urged lawmakers to get it done. That gave the market a concrete political catalyst, and traders responded by going long in a big way.
It doesn't hurt that the act, if passed, would give crypto firms clearer regulatory guardrails — something the industry has been begging for. The prospect of legal certainty tends to light a fire under prices, and this week it did.
Short sellers get squeezed
The surge left leveraged bears in the dust. Over $3 billion in short positions were liquidated as price moved against them. That's a brutal number, and it likely amplified the upward move — forced buybacks to cover those shorts only pushed price higher.
Exchange data shows the squeeze was sharp and fast. Traders who'd been betting on a pullback found themselves scrambling to exit. The velocity of the liquidation cascade is a reminder that leverage cuts both ways.
What traders are watching now
All eyes turn to Washington. The CLARITY Act still has to clear both chambers, and while the political momentum looks real, nothing's guaranteed. If the bill stalls, the rally could lose its engine just as quickly as it found it.
For now, the market's betting on approval. Bitcoin's sitting above $71K, and the next move likely hinges on legislative headlines rather than technicals.
