Bitcoin clears $86,000 as $1B in shorts liquidated again – battle now shifts to $90k

Bitcoin’s break above $86,000 has cleared a major pocket of bearish leverage and put $90,000 back in traders’ sights.The largest cryptocurrency climbed as high as $87,363 over the past 24 hours, its strongest level since January, before easing to $85,824 at press time, CryptoSlate data show. The advance pushed Bitcoin through a zone that had repeatedly capped rallies and accumulated short positions over several months.Glassnode said the price action helped BTC reclaim all of its major long-term moving averages after spending about 300 days below them. The asset is also trading above its True Market Mean and short-term holder cost basis, levels the firm uses to distinguish sustained bullish regimes from weaker market structures.Bitcoin's Long-Term Average (Source: Glassnode)On-chain activity accelerated alongside the move. Bitview data show more than 1 million BTC, worth over $92 billion, moved during the past week, the highest transaction volume in four years and above activity recorded around Bitcoin’s October 2025 peak.The combination leaves the market entering its next test with much of the short exposure around $86,000 already flushed out, shifting attention toward whether fres...