Bitcoin’s latest advance was amplified by forced short liquidations and accompanied by firmer spot demand, while newer market-structure data show derivatives positioning has cooled. CryptoQuant analyst BorisD said Binance’s Short Squeeze indicator reached 6.94, its highest level since November 2024, with the futures basis still bearish at 4.5%, below the 5% neutral threshold. Analyst Murphy said spot relative volume hit 2.94 on Aug. 19-20, nearly three times the 30-day average, calling the buying potentially constructive but not proof of a lasting reversal. Separately, Coinglass data cited on Aug. 22 indicated that funding rates on mainstream centralized and decentralized exchanges had moved back to neutral as Bitcoin extended its weekly gains, pointing to a more balanced long-short cost structure after the squeeze-driven move.