Ether led a broad cryptocurrency rebound on Friday, rising as much as 8.3% as short liquidations forced bearish traders to close positions. Bitcoin gained less than 4%, and both tokens retreated from their session highs. Coinglass data cited by Bloomberg showed more than $255 million in Ether short positions and $172 million in Bitcoin bearish wagers were liquidated over the preceding 24 hours. Ether liquidations accelerated in the latest hour, reaching approximately $188 million, while total liquidations across long and short positions in the wider crypto market were roughly $500 million. The move resembled a short squeeze, in which rising prices force traders betting on declines to buy back positions, adding to upward pressure. On Binance, about $76 million in Ether positions were liquidated, mostly shorts. Ether funding rates in perpetual futures (contracts without an expiry date) turned negative, meaning short sellers paid to maintain exposure while long counterparties received those payments. Bloomberg reported that the speed of the gains pointed to speculative positioning rather than a meaningful influx of new buyers. Traders had largely remained inactive since late August, following a Bitcoin-led wave of forced deleveraging. Bitget Wallet research analyst Lacie Zhang said the recent range-bound trading appeared to be consolidation with fading short-term momentum rather than a confirmed structural breakdown. Friday’s move echoed Bitcoin’s late-August rally, when a roughly 23% five-day gain triggered about $2.7 billion in crypto short liquidations. Bitcoin remains below its 2026 peak of $94,820, set in mid-January, and its October 2025 record of $126,198.