$600M Bitcoin short sparks fear – Is BTC’s $110K under threat?

Key Takeaways

Why is BTC under pressure this week?

The market hasn’t recovered from last week’s liquidation, BTC failed to hold $115k mid-week, and $600 million in new short positions suggest smart money is pricing in further downside.

How does the U.S.–China trade war factor in?

Trump’s confirmation of ongoing trade tensions adds macro volatility, making BTC’s $110k support increasingly fragile.

The market hasn’t recovered from the recent liquidation cascade, and it looks like another one is lining up. For context, it has been a week since the $19 billion wipeout, and the market is still struggling to find a grip.

Backing this, FOMO hasn’t kicked in yet. Spot demand for Bitcoin [BTC] remains low, and fear continues to dominate sentiment. At this point, calling $110k a solid support for BTC is still too premature.

Against this setup, Donald Trump’s comments on the trade war have only reinforced the downside. Does this mean BTC is lining up for another wipeout? Early signals suggest the smart money is already pricing it in.

Trump confirms trade war pressures will persist

“We are in now,” Trump doubled down on the U.S.-China trade war.

In a recent panel, when asked if the market should price in a “sustained” trade war with China, Trump didn’t hold back, making it clear that macro chop is far from priced out, and tariffs remain the main line of defense.

In short, the 100% tariffs aren’t off the table yet, with execution still set to hit China starting the 1st of November. Market reaction? BTC was up 0.68% intraday, at press time, showing some short-term chop but no real follow-through yet.

In other words, Bitcoin’s still way off from locking $110k as a solid base.

Zoom in: BTC is down 3.23% on the week. It failed to flip $115k into support mid-week, and the week closed with a range break. The sell-off pushed BTC back toward $110k, showing a clear bearish bias in the tape.

Simply put, BTC’s structure is getting put to the test.

However, the $600 million in short positions suggests that the market is anticipating further downside, a trend that has recently delivered significant profits for traders.

$600M BTC shorts raise market suspicion

Timing is proving to be a major market trigger in this cycle.

Flashback a week ago, before the $19 billion wipeout, AMBCrypto spotted a $420 million BTC short around $121k, making it the biggest bet in months. That trade cashed out huge, fueling speculation of insider trading.

Now, we’re seeing a similar setup. A whale dropped a $600 million short across multiple assets, with $194 million on BTC at 10x leverage. The kicker? It went live 90 minutes before Trump dropped the trade war news.

The timing screams this move wasn’t random.

Instead, with the U.S.-China trade war odds ramping, dip-buyers nowhere to be seen, and BTC’s $110k under pressure, this $600 million short looks like a strategic hit on Bitcoin. Will it pay off? History says it probably will.

In this context, another leverage flush isn’t off the table.

According to CryptoQuant, capital is still heavily leveraged, and with most positions held by bearish traders, Bitcoin’s $110K support level is starting to look increasingly vulnerable.