87,300 US dollars. Bitcoin touched that level twice in the past two days—both times it was pushed back. After breaking above 87,000 during the September 23 session, it turned and fell by about 3.85%, once even slipping below 84,000.
First, let’s talk about why this price level is special. This isn’t just some random round-number barrier—Bitcoin’s opening price in January 2026 was between 87,000 and 88,000, which is essentially the break-even line for the batch of buyers who entered at the start of this year. On the other side, the average cost basis of holdings for US spot Bitcoin ETFs is around 81,700 dollars. Once the price climbed above 85,900, ETF holders collectively first moved into net profit since January. With both trapped positions from earlier in the year and newly profitable positions stacked at the same level, it’s not surprising that the price can’t keep pushing higher.
Now, how did this rally start? On September 21, US spot Bitcoin ETFs saw net inflows of about 999 million US dollars in a single day, the largest daily figure this year. BlackRock’s IBIT alone contributed about 381 million. But the real accelerant was liquidation: within 24 hours, the entire market saw about 1.06 billion US dollars wiped out, of which roughly 844 million was short positions. Every time the price broke through a level, a wave of liquidations was triggered. Those forced buy-ins then pushed the price upward again, creating a stair-step pattern of “breakout—liquidation—another breakout.”
My view is that the slope from 80,000 to 87.3k was too steep; the main fuel was an ETF one-day pulse plus short covering, not sustained spot buying support. Every short position liquidated removes a future forced buyer from the market. That’s borrowed time. To check whether this is a trend, look at two things: whether ETF inflows can shift from “10 billion in a single day” to multiple consecutive days, and whether the 84,000 line can hold. On September 22, the Fear and Greed Index hit 78—entering “extreme greed” for the first time in 14 months. At positions like this, pullbacks often don’t need a specific reason.
What I most want to ask is: if the fuel for the up move was shorts getting burned, after the shorts are fully burned, who’s going to buy?
$BTC
#Bitcoin hits resistance twice at 87,300
First, let’s talk about why this price level is special. This isn’t just some random round-number barrier—Bitcoin’s opening price in January 2026 was between 87,000 and 88,000, which is essentially the break-even line for the batch of buyers who entered at the start of this year. On the other side, the average cost basis of holdings for US spot Bitcoin ETFs is around 81,700 dollars. Once the price climbed above 85,900, ETF holders collectively first moved into net profit since January. With both trapped positions from earlier in the year and newly profitable positions stacked at the same level, it’s not surprising that the price can’t keep pushing higher.
Now, how did this rally start? On September 21, US spot Bitcoin ETFs saw net inflows of about 999 million US dollars in a single day, the largest daily figure this year. BlackRock’s IBIT alone contributed about 381 million. But the real accelerant was liquidation: within 24 hours, the entire market saw about 1.06 billion US dollars wiped out, of which roughly 844 million was short positions. Every time the price broke through a level, a wave of liquidations was triggered. Those forced buy-ins then pushed the price upward again, creating a stair-step pattern of “breakout—liquidation—another breakout.”
My view is that the slope from 80,000 to 87.3k was too steep; the main fuel was an ETF one-day pulse plus short covering, not sustained spot buying support. Every short position liquidated removes a future forced buyer from the market. That’s borrowed time. To check whether this is a trend, look at two things: whether ETF inflows can shift from “10 billion in a single day” to multiple consecutive days, and whether the 84,000 line can hold. On September 22, the Fear and Greed Index hit 78—entering “extreme greed” for the first time in 14 months. At positions like this, pullbacks often don’t need a specific reason.
What I most want to ask is: if the fuel for the up move was shorts getting burned, after the shorts are fully burned, who’s going to buy?
$BTC
#Bitcoin hits resistance twice at 87,300