Bitcoin accelerates through zone of short liquidations above $85.000

Bitcoin rose nearly 6% on Monday to $85.000, breaking through a price zone that has been under pressure for months. According to Glassnode, traders built up short positions en masse between $82.000 and $86.000, but the price pushed on regardless. Now that those shorts are being liquidated, the traders involved have to buy Bitcoin back, which further reinforces the rise.

Bitcoin is available at OKX and Bybit.

In brief:

• Bitcoin rises to $85.000, a gain of 5.9% in 24 hours
• Glassnode points to a large concentration of short positions between $82.000 and $86.000
• Forced buybacks by liquidated short traders reinforce the price rise

Shorts built up between $82.000 and $86.000

Glassnode’s liquidation heatmap shows that a strikingly large concentration of short positions has formed over the past months in the price range between $82.000 and $86.000. Traders who were betting on a decline in Bitcoin built up their positions there.

When the price approached this area, many expected a sharp pullback. That failed to materialise, however. According to Glassnode, the rejection of this level was shallow, which means that selling pressure remained limited and the price quickly climbed further.

Forced buybacks as extra fuel

Now that Bitcoin has broken through the short liquidation zone, traders holding loss-making short positions are forced to close them. That means they have to buy Bitcoin back, which places additional buying pressure on the market and further fuels the rally.

Earlier, Bitcoin rose to $85.000 for the first time since January. The current breakout is therefore confirmed by the liquidation data, which characterise the move as structural buying behaviour rather than a temporary outlier. Bitcoin ETFs already showed an inflow of $621 million earlier this week, underlining the broader interest in Bitcoin.