Crypto futures traders betting against higher prices suffered losses exceeding $500 million in the past 24 hours. This followed a significant price surge, fueled by speculation of a potential easing of US-China trade tariffs, resulting in the largest short liquidation event since October.

Bitcoin (BTC) climbed from a low of $88,000 on Tuesday to over $93,500 during Asian trading hours. This rally propelled the broader market upward, with ether (ETH), Cardano's ADA, and dogecoin (DOGE) experiencing a 14% increase. Solana's SOL and XRP saw gains of 7%, and all top-100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization registered positive growth.

Sui Network's SUI, UniSwap's UNI, and Near Protocol's also performed strongly, with gains reaching as high as 18%. Memecoin mog (MOG) saw a remarkable 30% surge, further demonstrating its tendency to mirror ETH's price movements.

Approximately $530 million in short positions, representing bets on lower prices, resulted in losses during a general unwinding of leveraged trades. Bybit experienced the largest volume of liquidations at $234 million, followed by Binance at $100 million and Gate at approximately $70 million.

Binance saw the single largest liquidation order, an ETH futures position valued at over $4.5 million.

Liquidations occur when an exchange closes a trader's leveraged position due to insufficient margin. This happens when a trader lacks the necessary funds to maintain their open position.

The crypto market's uptick coincided with statements from Donald Trump suggesting a more conciliatory approach towards China in trade negotiations, hinting at potential tariff reductions if a deal is reached. This potentially eased trader concerns.

Jeff Mei, COO at BTSE, commented to CoinDesk via Telegram: "Fears of an escalating trade war have lessened as traders largely anticipate a US-China trade agreement in the coming weeks. Whether this is temporary remains to be seen."

Mei further elaborated: "However, recent weeks indicate a high likelihood of interest rate cuts and a weakening US dollar, explaining bitcoin's surge. With a weakening US dollar, and the potential for other currencies to depreciate, bitcoin may become a more attractive store of value."