Short / Long Squeeze
A sharp price move forced by mass closure of opposing positions. A squeeze 'wrings out' one side of the market.
Short squeeze: price rises, shorts bleed and must buy the asset back (voluntarily or via liquidation), and their buying pushes price further up. A long squeeze mirrors this downward. Squeezes usually hit markets where positioning was extremely one-sided. Which is why the Long/Short Ratio and liquidation dominance provide context about squeeze vulnerability. A squeeze is a mechanism, not a signal: its exact timing cannot be predicted.
In plain words
Picture a crowd betting on a fall. Price rises, each of them has to buy to escape, and their buying lifts price even more. That is how sudden 'no reason' pump candles are born.
Example
Ratio at 0.6 (short-heavy), BTC rises 4% on positive news. Short liquidations add $60M of forced buying and the candle closes +9%. That is a short squeeze, meaning leverage mechanics, not 'manipulation'.
Also known as: short squeeze, long squeeze, squeeze, wyciskanie shortów