Bitcoin Breaks Above $86K as $1B in Crypto Positions Liquidated

Bulls are back in town as the crypto market rallies and short traders got wrecked. Bitcoin gained over 10% on the weekly chart and 6% on the daily chart, currently trading at US$86,400 (AU$121,364).

Major altcoins like Ethereum (+9.88%), XRP (+8.1%), Solana (+15.51%), Zcash (+26.18%) and Hyperliquid (+16.7%) also made strong weekly gains.

Zcash’s gains come after a 3-for-1 forward share split last week for the Zcash ETF (ZCSH), as well as a 2,900% rally over the past year.

The broader market rally may be due to an easing of the overall economic picture. Following a Federal Reserve rate hike last week, odds are for one more later this year, though analysts seem uncertain. On the war with Iran, Trump has signalled he’d be agreeable to a sit-down with Iran’s President, Masoud Pezeshkian, during this week’s UN General Assembly. 

Read also: Bitcoin ETFs Dodge Second Straight Weekly Outflow as $433M Friday Inflow Reverses Loss

Some analysts, though, have been caught off guard and taken to X (formerly Twitter) to admit they misread the market signals.

Short Sellers Lose Millions

Crypto short sellers have also felt the bulls breathing down their necks. Data from Coinglass shows that over US$1 billion (AU$1.4 billion) has been liquidated over the past 24 hours, with US$839.4 million (AU$1.1 billion) in shorts alone. Of that, US$606.3 million (AU$851.8 million) came from Bitcoin short sellers, making it the largest liquidation event since 21 August.

Ironically, there’s also been a comeback of “Inverse Cramer”. The CNBC host said back in early August that he was selling all his Bitcoin. He made the comments based on the IBM CEO’s statements about quantum threats, even though no real threat exists right now and any such threat could be decades away – though experts’ opinions vary.

Read more: JPMorgan: Bitcoin Could See Stronger ETF Demand Than Gold

Nevertheless, since Cramer sold his stash, BTC has rallied around 35%. If you bought one BTC then and sold it now, you could’ve pocketed over US$20K (AU$28K). Social media has lit up with comments, with some even thanking Cramer.