PiCK
Bitcoin Hits $86,000, an Eight-Month High, as $750 Million in Shorts Are Liquidated
Summary
- Bitcoin (BTC) reached $86,000, its highest level in eight months, after breaking through key resistance at $82,000.
- The move came with about $750 million in short liquidations and about $2 billion in new leveraged positions.
- US spot Bitcoin ETFs posted net inflows, Bitcoin moved above the $82,225 average purchase price, and $90,000 and $92,000 are now being discussed as the next key levels.
Forecast Trend Report by Period
Bitcoin climbed to $86,000, its highest level in eight months, helped by a wave of short liquidations and renewed inflows into spot exchange-traded funds.
CoinDesk reported on Sept. 21 that Bitcoin broke above $82,000 and extended its gains to $86,000. The $82,000 level had served as a key resistance line, capping Bitcoin's rise since August.
The move triggered a large round of short liquidations. CoinGlass data showed that about $750 million of crypto derivatives short positions were liquidated as Bitcoin pushed through $82,000. Buy orders generated during the unwinding added further fuel to the rally.
Jim Ferraiuolo, head of digital asset research at Charles Schwab, said Bitcoin's 5% gain earlier in the day was driven by liquidations of perpetual futures short positions.
Leverage is also building quickly. CoinAlyze data showed open interest in Bitcoin futures rising faster than the price itself, with about $2 billion in new leveraged positions added after the breakout.
Flows into US spot Bitcoin ETFs also reversed. The funds posted combined outflows of $746 million last Tuesday and Wednesday after the Senate failed to advance a procedural vote on the Clarity Act and after the Federal Reserve's rate increase weighed on sentiment. That shifted to net inflows of $160 million on Thursday and $433 million on Friday.
The rally also pushed Bitcoin above $82,225, the average cost basis for investors in US spot Bitcoin ETFs. That put the average ETF position back in profit.
The market is now eyeing $90,000 as the next level. Nikolai Sondergaard, a senior research analyst at Nansen, identified $87,000 as the first price level to watch, followed by $90,000 and about $92,000 as the next key zones. Jasper De Maere, an over-the-counter trader at Wintermute, also raised the possibility of a test of $90,000.
Still, the advance may need continued spot demand to be sustained. Sondergaard said he wants to see ongoing spot buying and continued ETF inflows. If leverage keeps rising without follow-through in spot demand, the rally could reverse on higher Treasury yields or a geopolitical shock.
Suehyeon Lee
shlee@bloomingbit.ioI'm reporter Suehyeon Lee, your Web3 Moderator.