Bitcoin price reclaims $85K as $612M shorts get liquidated – Can BTC hold?

Bitcoin’s [BTC] recent recovery is gaining significance as buyers reverse a deep pullback into a move above a key resistance zone. After falling toward $76,000, BTC gradually rebuilt demand and reclaimed $82,000 before accelerating toward $87,000.

The rapid recovery was also enough to get Bitcoin [BTC] over $85,000 for the first time since January, which marked a big shift in momentum for the short term. In addition, the buying interest during this move has also absorbed large exchange inflows.

Binance received roughly 4.6K BTC around the 15th of September, followed by several additional deposits. Another 2.4K BTC entered on the 21st of September as BTC pushed higher.

Yet the price continued higher, suggesting that investor demand continued absorbing any potential selling pressure.

If BTC holds above $85,000, it will strengthen the continuation of the current rally. Conversely, any renewed inflows may cause downward pressure on the rally should demand begin to weaken.

Short liquidations fuel Bitcoin’s breakout

The absorption was not driven solely by organic demand; it was largely fueled by massive short liquidations. Supporting that, in a period of 24 hours, crypto liquidations reached $1.06 billion, with shorts accounting for $844.03 million.

Even more important than these numbers is the fact that many of the recent spot volumes were not the result of organic spot buyers.

Much of the spot volume was driven by short sellers forced to cover their losing positions during the squeeze. Interestingly, Bitcoin alone recorded $611.99 million of those short liquidations, showing where much of the forced demand emerged.

In fact, the largest portion of these liquidations occurred when the price rose above $80k, forcing bearish positions to close into a rapidly rising market. As a result, this created rapid price increases, which then caused further buying pressure as price continued upward.

This created a feedback loop where rising prices triggered short liquidations, while those closures added further buying pressure and accelerated the move. However, that support is temporary because liquidations cannot continue indefinitely.

Ultimately, once the short positions clear, Bitcoin needs genuine spot demand to absorb supply and defend the $85,000 breakout.

Final Summary

• Bitcoin reclaimed $85,000 as stronger demand absorbed heavy Binance inflows and helped extend the recovery from $76,000.
• BTC now requires sustained spot demand to defend $85,000 as rising leverage increases the risk of another liquidation-driven pullback.