86,000. The last time it was at this spot was in late January this year. Eight months have passed
In those eight months, what happened? Liquidations here, people exiting the market there. The group chat was eerily silent. And I was still here.
Let’s first talk about how this move started.
Over the past 24 hours, shorts were liquidated for $648 million, accounting for 86% of the total liquidation amount. 137,000 people were pushed out. The moment BTC broke above 82,000, shorts began to be mechanically closed out—forced to buy—pushing the price higher and triggering more short liquidations. A textbook short-squeeze waterfall.
The ETF money came back before the squeeze even fully played out.
On September 17, net inflows were $159 million; on September 18, they expanded to $433 million. Fidelity’s FBTC alone bought in $311 million. Then on Monday, the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF single-day net inflow surged to $998.9 million. This is the largest single-day inflow since October 2025, and the highest record so far in 2026. BlackRock’s IBIT led the way with $381 million.
The squeeze is the fuel. Once it’s burned, it’s gone. ETFs are the engine—they can keep running.
There’s another signal that most people didn’t notice.
On the Bitcoin weekly timeframe, the close above the 50-week moving average for the first time in 45 weeks. Galaxy’s research director Alex Thorn said that historically, this signal is often treated as confirmation of a bear-market bottom.
I don’t trade based on moving averages, but I know that once the weekly trend starts to turn, the money sitting on the sidelines waiting for “confirmation” will gradually come back.
Bitwise’s CIO Matt Hougan had a very heavy remark.
He said, “Crypto winter is over.” And now we’re entering “crypto spring,” and it could even be the strongest and most sustained bull cycle in crypto history.
You don’t have to believe Hougan. But you should believe one thing: before September 18, ETFs were experiencing net outflows. From the start of the year to September, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs cumulatively had net outflows of about $464 million. Then within three days, it all flipped back to positive. If this move were only a squeeze, ETFs wouldn’t be buying like this.
Right now, I’m holding—no adding, no trimming.
As for how high it can go, I don’t know. 90,000 is the next psychological level. A BTIG analyst said that as long as 75,000 holds, there’s room to reach toward 90,000—but that’s for later.
What I’m focused on right now is whether 86,000 can turn into support over the next two days. If it can, then this move is the start. If it can’t, then it’s just another fake breakout.
— Clean-flow channel #比特币突破5月高点逼近8.6万美元
In those eight months, what happened? Liquidations here, people exiting the market there. The group chat was eerily silent. And I was still here.
Let’s first talk about how this move started.
Over the past 24 hours, shorts were liquidated for $648 million, accounting for 86% of the total liquidation amount. 137,000 people were pushed out. The moment BTC broke above 82,000, shorts began to be mechanically closed out—forced to buy—pushing the price higher and triggering more short liquidations. A textbook short-squeeze waterfall.
The ETF money came back before the squeeze even fully played out.
On September 17, net inflows were $159 million; on September 18, they expanded to $433 million. Fidelity’s FBTC alone bought in $311 million. Then on Monday, the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF single-day net inflow surged to $998.9 million. This is the largest single-day inflow since October 2025, and the highest record so far in 2026. BlackRock’s IBIT led the way with $381 million.
The squeeze is the fuel. Once it’s burned, it’s gone. ETFs are the engine—they can keep running.
There’s another signal that most people didn’t notice.
On the Bitcoin weekly timeframe, the close above the 50-week moving average for the first time in 45 weeks. Galaxy’s research director Alex Thorn said that historically, this signal is often treated as confirmation of a bear-market bottom.
I don’t trade based on moving averages, but I know that once the weekly trend starts to turn, the money sitting on the sidelines waiting for “confirmation” will gradually come back.
Bitwise’s CIO Matt Hougan had a very heavy remark.
He said, “Crypto winter is over.” And now we’re entering “crypto spring,” and it could even be the strongest and most sustained bull cycle in crypto history.
You don’t have to believe Hougan. But you should believe one thing: before September 18, ETFs were experiencing net outflows. From the start of the year to September, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs cumulatively had net outflows of about $464 million. Then within three days, it all flipped back to positive. If this move were only a squeeze, ETFs wouldn’t be buying like this.
Right now, I’m holding—no adding, no trimming.
As for how high it can go, I don’t know. 90,000 is the next psychological level. A BTIG analyst said that as long as 75,000 holds, there’s room to reach toward 90,000—but that’s for later.
What I’m focused on right now is whether 86,000 can turn into support over the next two days. If it can, then this move is the start. If it can’t, then it’s just another fake breakout.
— Clean-flow channel #比特币突破5月高点逼近8.6万美元