Bitcoin Price Analysis: High Shorts Count Could Signal Price Hike

Once again, bitcoin finds itself precariously perched on the bottom of its macro trading range (TR). After a strong round of selling over the course of two weeks plunged the price back to the $6,000s, bitcoin began consolidating for several weeks at the bottom of the TR:

Figure 1: BTC-USD, 1-Day Candles, Macro TR

As shown in the figure above, the market has interacted several times at the current price range and it has been a source of three major bullish rallies. Currently, there is a lot of bearish pressure trying to submerge the price but very little price movement. If we take a look at the open long and open short positions on Bitfinex, we actually see a record-setting short count for the year as shorts outnumber the longs by almost 30%:

Figure 2: BTC-USD, 1-Day Candles, Longs vs. Shorts

So far, this is the highest the short count has been since bitcoin topped late last year. Also, one thing to note is not only how high the short count is, but how high it is compared to the open…