Bitcoin surged to $75,600 before falling back and failing to hold the key level. A total of $218 million in liquidations occurred across the network, with short sellers accounting for 70% of the losses.

Bitcoin failed to break through the $76,000 mark again, fluctuating between $73,780 and $75,600 in the past 24 hours, currently trading at $74,617, with gains narrowing to +1%. This stubborn resistance has held bulls back for three months, leaving a 42% gap from the all-time high of $128,198. However, the bears are also in a precarious position—if BTC breaks through $76,000, up to $200 million in short positions could face forced liquidation. Ethereum traded in a narrow range between $2,311 and $2,353 in the past 24 hours, currently trading at $2,347.88, up 0.42%, maintaining its position as the second-largest cryptocurrency with a market capitalization of $283.4 billion.

Air Force Suffers Huge Loss: $218 Million in Margin Calls in 24 Hours, 70% of Which Were Short Positions

According to CoinGlass's real-time data, the total liquidation amount across the network in the past 24 hours reached $217,971,749 (approximately $218 million USD). Looking at the breakdown over the past 12 hours, long positions saw only $41.59 million in liquidations, while short positions reached a staggering $108.60 million, representing 72.3% of the total. The largest single liquidation was $1.11 million. Despite the market failing to break upwards, the losses for short sellers far exceeded those for long positions—this structure of "unable to rise, but shorts suffering more" is one of the most peculiar characteristics of the current market.

Key Catalyst: SEC Clarity Act Roundtable Launches Today

Today (April 16th), the US SEC will hold a roundtable meeting on the Clarity Act, a framework for classifying crypto assets. Simultaneously, the US Senate will resume negotiations on the Clarity Act after its reconvening. This is the most direct policy catalyst for the crypto market recently—if the regulatory framework sends a favorable signal, the market expects it could push Bitcoin to challenge the $75,000 resistance level again. Last Thursday (April 14th), when BTC surged to $74,000, it triggered $527 million in liquidations in a single day, showing that once a key level is broken, the leverage effect will amplify rapidly.

Alternative Stocks Rotate: SOL and XRP Both Rise Slightly

Major Altcoin followed Bitcoin's lead and closed slightly higher: Solana is currently trading at $85.11 (+1.46%), and XRP at $1.33. The total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies is $2.59T, with BTC dominating at 57.3%, indicating that funds remain highly concentrated in Bitcoin, and the diversion effect of Altcoin is not yet significant.

A Tale of Two Extremes: US Stocks Hit Record Highs, Crypto Fear Index Remains at 23

US stocks closed strongly on April 15th, with the S&P 500 closing at 7,022.95 (+0.80%) and the Nasdaq at 24,016.02 (+1.59%), both hitting new all-time highs. The prospect of US-Iran peace talks boosted risk sentiment. However, the Fear & Greed Index in the crypto market remained stuck at 23 (extreme fear), a stark contrast to the optimistic atmosphere in US stocks. Today's SEC roundtable results and the battle between bulls and bears at the $75,000–$76,016 resistance zone will be key points to watch in the short term.