Ether and solana extend gains as a short squeeze lifts bitcoin toward $62,000

Markets Ether and solana extend gains as a short squeeze lifts bitcoin toward $62,000 Bearish traders lost $281 million in liquidations over 24 hours, nearly double the longs, as bitcoin pushed to its strongest level in two weeks. Ether is up almost 10% on the week and solana nearly 19% while a rebound in tech stocks eased the pressure from the AI trade. By Shaurya Malwa Jul 3, 2026, 5:18 a.m. 2 min read Make preferred on Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Make preferred on Summary Show Ether and solana led a broad crypto rally, with bitcoin nearing $62,000 in the market’s strongest week since mid-June as major tokens posted sizable weekly gains. A sharp short squeeze drove the move, with $281 million in bearish crypto bets liquidated in 24 hours and ether accounting for the largest share of wiped-out positions. Weaker U.S. jobs data eased expectations for further Federal Reserve rate hikes, lifting risk assets from crypto to Asian stocks, though questions remain about whether the squeeze will turn into sustained demand amid ETF outflows and thin liquidity. Ether and solana led crypto higher on Friday as a squeeze on bearish traders pushed bitcoin toward $62,000, capping the market's first genuinely strong week since mid June. Bitcoin traded around $61,360, up 2.5% over seven days, per CoinDesk data. Ether rose 4.2% in 24 hours to about $1,702 and is up 9.7% on the week, while solana held near $80 with a weekly gain of 18.6%, the strongest among the majors. XRP added 5.7% over the week to $1.09 and Hyperliquid's HYPE rose 5.1% on the day. Traders betting against crypto lost $281 million to liquidations over the past 24 hours, against $159 million in longs, out of $440 million in total forced closures across 95,690 traders, according to Coinglass data. When shorts are forced to close, they buy back the asset, and that buying pushes prices into the next tranche of shorts, the loop that turns a modest bounce into a squeeze. The largest single liquidation was an $18.2 million ether position on Hyperliquid, fitting a day when ether led the damage to bears at $157 million in wiped positions against bitcoin's $103 million in an unusual flip. The macro backdrop helped. U.S. June employment data came in weaker than expected on Thursday, trimming bets that the Federal Reserve will raise rates again and weakening the dollar against most major currencies, according to Bloomberg. Softer hiring cuts the case for the restrictive policy that has weighed on crypto since the Fed's hawkish June outlook, and gold climbed for a third day as those rate-hike bets faded. Stocks steadied too. Asian shares rallied after two days of tech-led losses, with South Korea's Kospi climbing 3% after flirting with a technical bear market. Samsung Electronics rose 6.8% after reports that AI firm Anthropic is in talks with the Korean company to manufacture a custom AI chip, a reminder that the AI spending underpinning this year's equity rally has not slowed even as investors argue over its pace. A stabilizing AI trade removes the immediate pressure of capital rotating away for crypto markets, though it also revives the competition for flows that defined the first half. The open question is whether the squeeze becomes a trend. Forced short-covering produces fast moves but not durable demand, U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs are still working through record monthly outflows, and the market enters the third quarter with thinner liquidity that cuts both ways. Latest Crypto News 1 Securitize tokenizes $295 million of its own stock on Solana and Avalanche amid NYSE debut 10 hours ago 2 EToro invests in onchain derivatives platform Extended as brokers race into DeFi 12 hours ago 3 Bitwise says STRC selloff signals crypto cycle nearing a bottom, not Strategy’s breaking point 12 hours ago 4 US Treasury sanctions over 100 ISIS-K crypto addresses that moved over $1.4 million 14 hours ago 5 SBI Crypto to shut down mining pool that holds roughly 2% of Bitcoin's hashrate 14 hours ago 6 Ondo Finance debuts SEC-aligned tokenized stock model with BlackRock ETF, Micron shares 15 hours ago 7 JPMorgan says Strategy's bitcoin sales policy adds 'two-way risk' to crypto markets 16 hours ago 8 U.S. payroll growth slowed sharply in June, with only 57,000 jobs added 16 hours ago 9 A struggling Nasdaq-listed company that tried to copy Saylor's Bitcoin playbook is completely dumping crypto for AI 17 hours ago 10 Three years after MiCA became law, Europe's crypto framework is undergoing a rethink 17 hours ago Latest Research Building the Zcash Machine: Tachyon and Quantum Readiness Building the Zcash Machine: Tachyon and Quantum Readiness Zcash’s Tachyon upgrade aims to scale shielded payments, improve quantum readiness, and test whether its funding, security, and governance can hold. By CoinDesk Research Jun 30, 2026 Commissioned by GenZcash Zcash’s Tachyon upgrade aims to scale shielded payments, improve quantum readiness, and test whether its funding, security, and governance can hold. Why it matters : Zcash’s Tachyon upgrade aims to scale shielded payments, improve quantum readiness, and test whether its funding, security, and governance can hold. View Full Report More From Markets Bitwise says STRC selloff signals crypto cycle nearing a bottom, not Strategy’s breaking point JPMorgan says Strategy's bitcoin sales policy adds 'two-way risk' to crypto markets U.S. payroll growth slowed sharply in June, with only 57,000 jobs added