Key Highlights
- Bitcoin rose about 3% to an eight-week high near $97,750 after breaking out of a long trading range.
- Nearly $1 billion was liquidated, mostly from traders betting the price would fall.
- Strong institutional demand continued, with spot Bitcoin ETFs recording over $750 million in inflows in a single day, led by Fidelity and BlackRock.
Bitcoin (BTC) rose around 3% on the day, breaking out of a multi-week trading range as traders and institutions increase their interest. The token has hit an eight-week high today, reaching an intraday high of $97,750 before settling at $96,455, thanks to a 64% increase in trading activity in the last 24 hours, which recorded about $67 billion in trading volume.
For the past two months, Bitcoin has been trading sideways, ranging between $84,000 and $94,000. However, the cryptocurrency gained traction over the weekend after reacting off a support level on the lower timeframe near $89,422, which started a rally. The surge forced short sellers to cover positions, which amplified the volatility.
$1 billion in total liquidation
Almost a billion was liquidated from the market due to the surge. According to Coinglass, about 149,827 traders were affected, with total liquidation closing up at about $848 million. $713 million from that total was from traders who had bet on short positions, while $135 million came from long positions.
At the same time, spot Bitcoin ETFs have been performing well since the start of the year. According to data from Sosovalue, Bitcoin ETFs recorded an inflow of over $753 million on January 13 alone. This makes the total net assets $123 billion on record. Fidelity brought in the most money with $351 million, followed by BlackRock with $126 million in inflows.
Macro factors have also played a role in Bitcoin’s upward movement. The U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released on January 13 showed that inflation is moderating. Lower inflation reduced the fears of aggressive interest rate hikes, which gives investors more confidence to allocate capital to cryptocurrencies.
In addition to that, the tension in Iran, where nationwide protests intensified amid a near-total internet blackout, has added global market uncertainty, pushing investors toward assets seen as safe havens.
Bitcoin’s path toward $100K
Bitcoin is now trading just below the $100,000 mark. The recent breakout suggests a shift in market structure toward an upward trend, supported by strong momentum.
The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is currently at 70, while the moving average is at 57. This means that the buyers are currently controlling the market, and the price is approaching an overbought condition. Any retracement from this level can spark a rally up above $100K, and possibly higher levels.
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