Approval for the Bitcoin ETF is anticipated shortly, causing bears to incur a loss of $100 million.

Traders who bet against the rise of Bitcoin (BTC) prices found themselves at a significant loss, exceeding $100 million within the last 24 hours. This downturn occurred as expectations of a potential approval for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the U.S. approached the finish line.

During Monday’s surge, BTC experienced a notable 9% increase, reaching over $47,000 for the first time since March 2022. The crypto exchange OKX saw the highest losses, with traders there facing a setback of $84 million, closely followed by Binance at $71 million.

Over the past 24 hours, open interest, indicating the number of unresolved futures contracts, saw an increase of more than 8%. This suggests that traders, anticipating continued volatility, entered into more positions following the recent liquidation event. Liquidation occurs when an exchange forcibly closes a leveraged position due to a partial or total loss of the trader’s initial margin, usually because they fail to meet the margin requirements for the position.

Notably, large liquidations can serve as indicators of a potential local top or bottom in a significant price movement. This information can be valuable for traders, providing a short-term signal of decreasing price volatility as leverage is effectively washed out from popular futures products.

Monday’s market fluctuations coincided with potential issuers, including BlackRock (BLK) and Grayscale, submitting their offering fees to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This marks a crucial step toward the possible approval of the first-ever Bitcoin ETF in the U.S. Currently, thirteen proposed ETFs are awaiting SEC approval, sparking competition among issuers who are already making strategic moves, such as offering fee waivers for the initial six months or up to $5 billion in assets under management (AUM).