Bitcoin Breaks Above $84,000 and Wipes Out Shorts
The move above $84,000 led to more than $262 million in short liquidations, with Bitcoin by far the biggest driver. Ethereum, Solana, and XRP also benefited from the broader rebound.
Key Takeaways
- Bitcoin briefly rose above $84,000 on September 21, for the first time since January 31, and traded around $83,869.
- In one hour, $262.30 million in short positions were liquidated; Bitcoin was the biggest source with $218.55 million.
- The rally spread more broadly across the crypto market, while Bitcoin posted its first weekly close above the 50-week moving average in 45 weeks.
Bitcoin briefly moved above $84,000 (€73,300) on September 21, for the first time since January 31. The move triggered $262.30 million (€229 million) in short liquidations in one hour, according to CoinGlass. At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading around $83,869 (€73,200), up 3.18% on the day.
Shorts Hit Hard
CoinGlass counted a total of $271.83 million (€237 million) in liquidations across the crypto market in that one hour. Of that, only $9.53 million (€8.3 million) came from long positions. Bitcoin was by far the biggest source of liquidations at $218.55 million (€191 million), followed by Ethereum with $26.47 million (€23.1 million) and Solana with $8.92 million (€7.8 million).
The pressure also lasted longer. Over 12 hours, the total climbed to $433.67 million (€378 million), and over 24 hours to $599.15 million (€523 million). In total, 127,304 traders were hit. The largest single order was a Binance Bitcoin perpetual worth $11.29 million (€9.9 million).
Broader Rebound in Crypto
The bounce was not limited to Bitcoin. XRP rose 7.04% in 24 hours and Solana gained 6.67%. Zcash led the top 10 with a weekly gain of 33.50%. That shows the move spread broadly across the market, even though Bitcoin was clearly the engine behind the liquidations.
Signal for the Market
The rise came after Bitcoin posted its first weekly close above a 50-week moving average in 45 weeks. The coin ended the week of September 20 at $81,159 (€70,800), about 3% above the average near $78,786 (€68,700). Galaxy analyst Alex Thorn sees that as an important signal that the bear market bottom may be behind us. For European crypto followers, this matters because big liquidation waves like this often show how quickly sentiment in the crypto market can flip, especially when Bitcoin reclaims an important technical level. That lines up with the technical picture of a close above the 50-week average, which analysts often see as a bullish turning point.
