Bitcoin’s price rallied past $86,000, achieving a 6% daily gain and pushing its market capitalization to $1.72 trillion. The move brought the asset near its Jan. 1 opening price of $87,575, narrowing year-to-date losses to under 2%.
Massive Short Squeeze Sends Bitcoin Price Above $86,000
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Key Takeaways
- Bitcoin’s price rallied past $86,000, lifting its market cap to $1.72 trillion and trimming YTD losses below 2%.
- The rapid surge triggered over $454 million in bitcoin short liquidations within a 24-hour window.
- Glassnode anticipates ongoing momentum, though $300 million in weekly ETF outflows remains a drag.
Two Waves of Price Action Lead to $1.72T Market Cap
Bitcoin’s price tapped $86,000 shortly after midmorning as the cryptocurrency built on Friday’s momentum, when it reclaimed the $80,000 threshold. The latest climb also brought the asset within striking distance of its 2026 opening price, narrowing its year-to-date losses to less than 2%. Market data show bitcoin experienced two rallying waves, with each pushing the price to a new multi-month high.
As reported by Bitcoin.com News, the first and most significant wave saw bitcoin’s price rally from $81,525 to just over $85,250 within two hours. While an ensuing sell-off dragged the price down to $81,150 around 6:40 a.m. EST, the dip was short-lived, and the price climbed back above $85,000 less than two hours later.
The second surge pushed the price to a session high of $86,332 before retreating to strong support above $85,700. This represented a daily gain of approximately 6% and lifted bitcoin’s market capitalization to $1.72 trillion, its highest level in months. As of 12:23 p.m. EST, bitcoin hovered above $85,800, less than $1,300 shy of its Jan. 1 price of $87,575.
According to Coinglass data, more than $454 million in bitcoin short positions were liquidated within 24 hours, compared to nearly $53 million in long positions. Across the broader cryptocurrency market, nearly $782 million in short bets were liquidated, compared to $144 million in longs. This aligns with Glassnode’s observation that Monday’s leg higher was fueled heavily by a wave of short liquidations rather than fresh selling pressure.
Buyers Spearhead Rally
Prior to today’s rally, price increases had consistently faded as bitcoin approached or breached the $82,000 mark. Analysts warned that unless bitcoin broke through this resistance level, it would remain trapped in a trading range between $77,000 and $82,000 for the foreseeable future. However, once bitcoin’s price finally breached $82,000, however, it took less than five minutes to reach $84,000.
According to Glassnode, spot and perpetual buyers spearheaded the rally, with taker flow on exchanges flipping from net selling to net buying while volume and momentum turned positive. Additionally, futures open interest and funding rates both sit above their high bands, indicating leverage is building alongside elevated options open interest near $41 billion.
On-chain profitability has also surged, with approximately two-thirds of the supply now in profit and capital flows remaining constructive as monthly changes in realized cap indicate new capital entering at higher prices. Notably, Glassnode highlighted ETF demand as the primary outlier trailing the spot market, with weekly net flows remaining negative at roughly $300 million despite increased ETF trading volume.
