Bitcoin Nears $83,100 Resistance, Shorts at Risk of Liquidation

Bitcoin is currently hovering just below a critical threshold, with its price positioned between $83,100 and $83,500, where dense short liquidation clusters are concentrated. This situation sets the stage for potential volatility as the cryptocurrency nears these tightly packed short liquidation levels.

On 30 March, TheKingfisher placed Bitcoin at $82,621.9, with the cryptocurrency positioned between two opposing liquidation zones on the charts. At the time of writing, the short positions cluster was between $83,100 and $83,500, while the long liquidations stretched below $82,400. This compression creates an asymmetrical pressure zone favoring bulls if the upper boundary is breached.

The imbalance in the chart structure is clear. The short liquidation band sits just 0.6–1.1% above the spot price, while long exposure is more widely dispersed. This asymmetry favors bulls if the upper boundary is breached, potentially triggering a forced buying cycle.

Trading platforms such as Binance and Bybit highlight the most concentrated short positions, suggesting platform-specific risk. If the price begins to climb, these clusters could trigger stop-outs first, pushing Bitcoin into a forced buying cycle.

Intraday heatmap activity supports this setup. Coinglass data showed that Bitcoin rose from $80,673 to $83,618 on 31 March, with liquidation leverage surging to $35.43M during this move. Most activity occurred between 15:15 and 18:30, confirming that leveraged short positions were stacked near its press time levels.

Bybit’s numbers further strengthen the signal. A separate heatmap recorded the session’s peak at $83,642, with liquidation leverage hitting $48.98M. Over 70% of total liquidations were packed between $81,000 and $83,600, indicating that leveraged short positions were concentrated near current levels.

Exchange Netflows offer a clue into the leverage behind this situation. According to CryptoQuant, Bitcoin outflows have dominated Binance and Bybit since February, as traders have been pulling assets amid the cryptocurrency’s falling prices. Even after inflows of 4,258 BTC on 28 March, the market has remained under pressure, suggesting these were likely short-term positioning inflows, not long-term accumulation.

Since peaking at $106,164 on 21 January, Bitcoin has dropped by 22%, closing March at $82,500. This decline is in line with persistent outflows and increasing liquidation events. The funding rate between 24-28 March was negative, indicating short-dominant sentiment. However, by 30 March, that flipped to positive, meaning rising long exposure and a key sentiment shift.

Open interest fell from $25.39 billion to $23.12 billion over the last week of March, with the sharpest decline coming on 28 March. This drop indicated large position closures or liquidations. As open interest falls and funding rises, it often marks the early stages of market repositioning. Shorts outweighed longs by 1.5–2x, triggering a setup historically linked to 60–65% upward volatility, as per TheKingfisher. Current liquidation clusters meet that threshold, with a key resistance at $83,100.

A break above $83,100 may push Bitcoin towards $83,500, with low resistance extending to $83,877. Heatmap data revealed minimal order friction in this range, resembling prior short squeezes. If Bitcoin fails to clear resistance, bearish sentiment may return, especially if funding flips negative or inflows decline. However, with compressed shorts, positive funding, and aligned heatmaps, the short-term bias might be leaning bullish. Hence, market timing remains critical, and the window for upside is narrowing.