Why are Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP prices up today?

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The top three crypto assets by market capitalization, Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and XRP, rallied on April 8 amid a broader short squeeze.

Over the past 24 hours, Bitcoin price gained more than 4% to trade above $71,522 at the time of publication. Ethereum (ETH) rallied nearly 7% to hover at approximately $2,244 at press time. Meanwhile, XRP, the native token for XRP Ledger, surged over 5% on Wednesday to reach $1.38 at the time of reporting, according to metrics from CoinMarketCap.

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Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP snapshot data on April 8. Source: CoinMarketCap

As such, the three crypto assets recorded significant liquidation of short traders, fueling today’s short squeeze as short sellers capitulated and bought back positions. In 24 hours, Bitcoin’s leveraged markets reported $237 million in net liquidations, with $212 million involving short traders, as per data from CoinGlass.

Similarly, Ethereum shorts made up $97.5 million of the $119 million in liquidations. XRP shorts totaled $3.57 million of the $4.30 million liquidated today.

Why did Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP experience a short-squeeze today?

The main reason Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP pumped on Wednesday was a surprise U.S.-Iran ceasefire. Following the drastic reduction in geopolitical risks, the three crypto assets led the wider industry in bullish momentum.

“Subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the complete, immediate, and safe opening of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks,” President Donald Trump announced on his Truth Social earlier today.

With the reduced fear of further capitulation, as reflected in CoinMarketCap’s Fear and Greed index moving to neutral at 46/100 from fear, crypto liquidity has risen, as observed in the derivatives markets.

Bitcoin Open Interest for April. Source: CoinGlass.

For instance, Bitcoin’s Open Interest (OI), the net value of active contracts held by traders across all exchanges, surged from $48 billion on April 1 to around $51.45 billion today, based on analytics from CoinGlass.

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