Bitcoin surges past $85,000 as $648M short liquidations fuel rally
In brief
- Bitcoin gained 5% in 24 hours to reach $85,193, extending its 35-day advance to 29%
- $648 million in short liquidations and $750.5 million total leveraged positions unwound in 24 hours
- Bitcoin's open interest near $28.83 billion approaches May records as asset reclaims technical levels
Liquidations fuel the breakout
About $750.5 million of leveraged crypto positions were liquidated over the past 24 hours, with more than $648 million coming from shorts. About 137,386 traders were liquidated during the 24-hour period. Bitcoin accounted for roughly $360 million of the liquidations, while Ethereum contributed nearly $171 million. The largest single liquidation was an $11.29 million BTC-USDT position on Binance.
Forced buying accelerated as European trading opened. Net taker volume on Binance jumped from about $11 million to $618 million within an hour as European trading opened. CryptoQuant attributed the shift partly to improving geopolitical sentiment related to potential diplomatic progress between the US and Iran.
Technical levels reclaimed
Bitcoin's price action broke two key technical barriers. Bitcoin closed above its 50-week moving average for the first time since November 2025, ending a 45-week stretch below the threshold. Bitcoin moved back above its 365-day moving average near $83,000. Bitcoin open interest stands at about $28.83 billion, close to its May record.
On-chain signals remain muted
Despite the price surge, on-chain metrics paint a more cautious picture. New and active Bitcoin addresses remained near their median levels between July 24 and Sept. 20, even as the price broke higher. Social activity rose to 1.23 times its baseline, and transactions worth more than $100,000 climbed to 1.18 times normal levels. These readings suggest retail participation hasn't fully caught up with the price move.
"That positioning can continue to work in Bitcoin's favor if prices rise and additional short sellers are forced to cover. It also leaves the market exposed to a sharper reversal." — CryptoSlate analysis
