Bitcoin (BTC) held above the $93,000 mark on April 24, suggesting a potential conclusion to the 52-day bear market that bottomed at $74,400.

Although Bitcoin is beginning to show signs of decoupling from the stock market, professional traders have not altered their strategies, as indicated by BTC futures and margin market data.

Despite a decisive rally that saw Bitcoin (BTC) price break above $90,000 and professional traders largely remaining on the sidelines, the crypto behemoth is continuing its ascent.

Bitcoin holds above $93K as traders prefer longs over shorts

After hitting lows of $74,400 in mid-March, Bitcoin had appeared to find a bottom around the same time that the U.S. stock market also hit lows.

This year, professional traders had largely limited their activity in BTC futures and margin markets, preferring to observe the unfolding macroeconomic scene.

A higher long-to-short ratio indicates a preference for long (buy) positions, while a lower ratio indicates a tilt toward short (sell) contracts.

At present, the top traders’ long-to-short ratio on Binance stands at 1.5x, marking a decrease from the 2x level observed ten days earlier. Over at OKX, the ratio peaked at nearly 1.1x on April 17 but has since lost momentum and now sits at 0.9x.

Chart of BTC price performance vs major assets and all-time highs in 2024.

The 10% rally in Bitcoin between April 20 and April 24 came amid a more conciliatory stance from U.S. President Donald Trump on import tariffs and his criticism of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who has faced scrutiny for maintaining high interest rates.

On April 24, Trump stated that he had “no intention” of firing Powell, marking a shift from his prior comments.

"I have no intention of firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell. I like and respect him. Perhaps, in fact, he'll do what's best for the American people and reduce the Fed Rates so that we can compete with China and beat the Tariffs imposed on us by other countries. We'll see!"

Deutsche Bank strategists have reduced their year-end S&P 500 target by 12% to 6,150 amid economic uncertainty. Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar has weakened against other major currencies, pushing the DXY index below 99 for the first time in three years.

Despite a modest 30-day gain of 6%, Bitcoin's performance has secured it a place among the world's top eight tradable assets, with a market capitalization of $1.84 trillion.

Short liquidations as more funds pour into Bitcoin

The sharp move above $90,000 took bearish traders by surprise, leading to over $390 million in leveraged short (sell) futures liquidations between April 21 and April 22, according to data from CoinGlass.

More importantly, the aggregate open interest in BTC futures remains just 5% below its all-time high, suggesting that bearish traders have not yet fully exited their positions.

Should Bitcoin price continue to rise and break above the $95,000 mark, an additional $700 million in short (sell) futures positions could be liquidated, according to the data.

This potential short squeeze could pose a significant challenge to bears, especially considering the strong inflows into spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which amounted to over $2.2 billion between April 21 and April 23.

This influx of institutional capital is noteworthy, given that retail traders have been net sellers of Bitcoin over the past 30 days, according to Glassnode data.

Moreover, SoftBank, Cantor Fitzgerald, and Tether are launching a Bitcoin treasury company called Twenty One Capital, which will begin with 42,000 BTC and plans to accumulate more through convertible bonds and equity financing.

The initiative is part of a broader trend of institutions increasing their involvement in the crypto space.

The muted response from top traders in BTC margin and futures markets suggests that the recent buying pressure has originated mainly from spot markets, which is generally considered a positive indicator for a sustainable bull run.

The longer Bitcoin manages to consolidate above the $90,000 mark, the greater the pressure on bears to cover their shorts, and the more this level serves to reinforce the narrative of Bitcoin decoupling from the stock market. This could provide the confidence needed to challenge the $100,000 psychological threshold.