Short liquidation leverage totaling $4.79 billion has built up in bitcoin’s upper price range, raising the likelihood of a short squeeze if prices rebound.

The Crypto Basic, a blockchain media outlet, reported on Tuesday that bearish bets surged after the U.S. Senate blocked further progress on the Clarity bill and bitcoin slid to around $75,000.

CoinGlass’ seven-day liquidation heatmap showed cumulative short liquidation leverage of $4.79 billion above $75,982, extending up to $83,575. Over the same period, cumulative long liquidation leverage below the market down to $67,861 was $2.05 billion. That leaves upper short exposure at about 2.5 times lower long exposure.

The direct trigger for the market shock was a U.S. Senate vote. The Senate voted on Monday on whether to proceed with follow-up steps for the Clarity bill, but it was rejected 49 to 50. The bill sought to establish a federal regulatory framework for digital assets, but fell 11 votes short of the 60-vote threshold needed to move to the next stage.

Right after the vote, bitcoin fell 4.6 percent and at one point slipped below $75,000. Total liquidations across the broader crypto market were tallied at about $771 million.

Crypto-related stocks also weakened. Coinbase fell more than 8 percent, Robinhood slid about 3 percent and bitcoin treasury company Strategy dropped 5 percent. The overall crypto market’s market-cap trend also fell as much as 4.2 percent at one point, before showing a decline of about 3 percent.

In derivatives markets, there were signs that new short positions were added after the drop. Over the past 24 hours, liquidated long positions totaled $174 million, while short liquidations were limited to $37.9 million. That indicates traders built up additional short positions expecting further declines after the sharp fall.

By exchange, at the $83,575 price level, Binance’s short liquidation exposure stood at $958,800, OKX at $287,090 and Bybit at $3.53 million. These figures reflect exposure at a single price point. The key point is that cumulative short liquidation leverage across the full $75,000 to $83,000 range totals $4.79 billion. If bitcoin keeps rising through that band, forced liquidations of short positions could occur in a chain reaction.

Leverage in the lower support area is relatively smaller. Cumulative long liquidation leverage below $75,000 down to $67,861 was $2.05 billion. At the single $67,861 level, Binance showed $2.01 million in long liquidation exposure, OKX $1.46 million and Bybit $2.38 million. With total downside exposure not even half of upside short exposure, an asymmetry in supply and demand has formed.

The key question is whether bitcoin will rebound and enter the price zone where short positions are concentrated. If forced liquidations triggered by rising prices occur in a chain reaction, buying pressure could add to gains and amplify the move. Still, since liquidation heatmaps indicate potential liquidation 규모, it may be difficult to conclude a rebound based on the short-position concentration alone.