Bitcoin climbed above $81,000 on Saturday, driven by a wave of short-position liquidations and renewed spot demand; this helped the cryptocurrency recover losses caused by interest rate hikes.
Bitcoin rose to $81,702 on September 18—having traded near $76,400 the previous day—breaching the $80,000 mark for the first time since September 7. As of 01:40 Moscow time, the world's leading cryptocurrency was trading at $81,331.3, up 5.65% for the day.
The recovery followed a challenging week for risk assets. The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 25 basis points, and the Bank of Japan followed suit by hiking its rate by a quarter-point to 1.25%—its highest level in 31 years.
Bitcoin initially dipped toward the $75,000–$76,000 range, but the sell-off expected after the Bank of Japan's decision failed to materialize. US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded inflows of approximately $159 million on September 17, providing fresh spot demand.
A sharp short squeeze subsequently accelerated Friday's rally. Roughly $192 million in leveraged crypto positions were liquidated within a single hour, with short positions accounting for over $183 million of that total. Bitcoin short positions made up about $119 million of the aggregate figure. Regulatory uncertainty remains in the spotlight after the US Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act this week. Meanwhile, the CFTC has submitted a separate proposal for crypto market regulation to the White House Office of Management and Budget, though details have not been disclosed.
The SEC also introduced an innovative exemption granting qualifying platforms a five-year pathway to offer on-chain trading of certain tokenized stocks without registering as securities exchanges.
Separately, the CFTC issued relief allowing certain software providers to connect users to regulated derivatives markets without registering as introducing brokers, subject to specific restrictions.
Market positioning suggests cautious optimism following Bitcoin's recovery. Many traders estimate an 84% probability that Bitcoin will hit the $84,000 mark before dropping to $55,000.
Confidence wanes at higher price levels. Polymarket traders put the probability of Bitcoin reaching $90,000 this year at 59%, whereas the likelihood of hitting $100,000 stands at just 25%. Downside risks persist as well; the platform estimates a 48% probability that Bitcoin will fall to $70,000 before the end of the year.
Crypto prices today: Altcoins rally to close the week
Most cryptocurrencies posted gains on Friday, according to the latest market snapshot.
Ether, the world's second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, rose 6.37% to $2,619.81.
XRP, the third-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, gained 8.97%, reaching $1.4238. Solana rose 10.54% to $113.57, while BNB gained 1.78% to reach $762.00.
Cardano rose 8.93% to $0.2330, while Dogecoin gained 6.62%.
Among meme coins, TRUMP traded flat for the day, while Shiba Inu rose 3.98%.