Bitcoin clears $86k, $1B shorts liquidated as $90k becomes next test

Breakout clears $86,000 short wall

Bitcoin climbed to $87,363 over the past 24 hours, its strongest level since January, before easing to $85,824 at press time. CoinGlass data show more than $1 billion in short positions liquidated as the break through $86,000 flipped entrenched bearish positioning into forced buying. Alphractal CEO Joao Wedson said the rally reached the largest short-liquidation zone built over the past year, completing a broader derivatives reset that began with the washout of leveraged longs during the decline.

On-chain volume and moving-average reclaim

Bitview recorded more than 1 million BTC, worth over $92 billion, moving during the past week — the highest transaction volume in four years and above activity around Bitcoin's October 2025 peak. Glassnode said BTC reclaimed all major long-term moving averages after roughly 300 days below them, and is now trading above the True Market Mean and short-term holder cost basis, levels the firm uses to identify sustained bullish regimes.

Leverage shift and options positioning

Longs now account for about 71% of remaining unliquidated positions versus 29% shorts, one of the widest gaps since the October 2025 record high. Glassnode said long leverage is gradually returning in the options market as put-call ratios move higher, though positioning remains well below speculative extremes and perpetual-futures funding is still below neutral. Deribit shows roughly $7.7 billion of open interest across the $90,000, $95,000, and $100,000 strikes, with $2.7 billion each at the first two levels.

Sentiment and the path to $90,000

Santiment said aggregate crypto open interest rose 7.6% to about $156 billion while trading volume climbed 39%, suggesting traders are replacing exposure quickly after the squeeze. Bullish discussion is at its strongest since 2024, and the Fear and Greed Index is approaching extreme greed. With much of the short-covering momentum already spent, the next leg depends on fresh capital absorbing rebuilt long exposure. Bitcoin needs less than 5% from press-time levels to reach $90,000, making that strike the immediate reference point.

Source: CryptoSlate