A Short Squeeze into a Bull Trap

The last 24 hours have seen both bulls and bears celebrating, each side convinced they had taken full control of Bitcoin before momentum flipped again. Yesterday began with Bitcoin failing to break above $112K, which gave the bears what looked like full control. They managed to send price lower to $107.4K, creating a lower high. But that was the extent of their run, as the move turned out to be a higher low.

During the overnight session, Bitcoin rallied nearly 6% in just three hours, wiping out leveraged short positions and pushing to a high of $114K. That breakout formed a higher high, giving bulls the upper hand off the back of a clear higher low. Rightfully so, there was bullish celebration. But by this morning, Bitcoin had retraced most of the move, dropping over 4% from the overnight high and retesting $109K. This wiped out the leveraged longs just as fast as the shorts had been liquidated.

It has been chaotic, with both sides claiming momentum at different points. In arguably more significant news, gold just recorded its largest red day of 2025, falling nearly 6% in the past 24 hours. As we previously flagged, signs of a potential top in gold are emerging. People are queuing for hours to buy physical bullion, which is typically a contrarian indicator. This does not mean the gold bull run is over, as the broader macro backdrop still favours gold. More importantly, though, this could be the beginning of a rotation. Smart money may be starting to move out of gold and into risk assets like Bitcoin. We have told readers to remain patient for signs of capital rotation, and this could be the first one.

Stormrake Spotlight: Hyperliquid (HYPE) ($35.39)

HYPE lost nearly 7%, wiping out all of Friday’s gains. It remains a levered bet on Bitcoin and continues to follow BTC’s moves with more volatility. At present, the bears remain in full control.

BTC/USD Key Levels and Price Action:

An intense 24 hours with a lower high, a lower low, a higher high, and now what looks like yet another lower low forming. Bitcoin is back below $108K and all the progress made overnight has been undone. If this lower low fails to hold, a retest of $104K is back in play.

BTC Total ETF Flows for 21 Oct: $ + 216.8 million

*All prices are denominated in USD unless stated otherwise*

Written by Alexandar Artis

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