Bitcoin Punches $87K as $90M in Shorts Get Squeezed Into Oblivion 🧃

Bitcoin surged toward $87,000 on Friday, climbing roughly 4% over the past 24 hours as a broader crypto market recovery took hold even amid higher global bond yields. Data from Coinglass shows more than $120 million in short positions were liquidated in a single hour on October 2, pushing total crypto market liquidations to $326 million. Of that, nearly $90 million in BTC short positions were forcibly closed as Bitcoin pushed back above $86,000. Over 24 hours, Bitcoin recorded approximately $135 million in total liquidations, including $123 million on the short side. Binance logged two large BTCUSDT liquidations of $11.73 million and $10.36 million at 4:20 AM UTC, with derivatives traders targeting the $90,000 level as oil prices fell during Friday's session.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs posted inflows, with BlackRock's IBIT drawing $195.6 million on the day, adding to a recovery in institutional flows. Federal Reserve rate hike odds for October have dropped sharply, according to market data cited by CoinGape, easing a key headwind that had pressured risk assets in prior sessions.

On-chain data and technical patterns also pointed to a continuation of the rally, with traders citing compressed funding rates and a flush of leveraged short exposure as setup for the move. Separately, SEC Chair Paul Atkins spotlighted Bitcoin when announcing the agency's crypto self-custody rules, providing a regulatory tailwind that several analysts flagged as supportive of the asset's standing. The combination of forced buying from liquidations, resurgent ETF demand, shifting Fed expectations, constructive on-chain signals, and a high-profile policy nod from the SEC converged to drive Bitcoin's strongest single-session gain in weeks.