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CapitalistMon Sep 21 · 7:40 AM ET · cryptocom

BITCOIN RAN $10,409 SINCE TUESDAY — $648 MILLION OF BETS AGAINST IT WERE FORCED TO BUY IT BACK

Bitcoin touched $85,305.97 on Crypto.com Exchange early Monday, September 21. The low on Tuesday, September 15, was $74,897.07. That is $10,408.90 in six days, up 13.9 percent. The Block says it is the first time above $85,000 since January.

Look at who did the buying. CoinGlass data carried by CoinDesk counts $746.6 million of positions liquidated in 24 hours, and $647.9 million of it was shorts. A short that gets liquidated has to buy back the coin it borrowed at whatever price the market asks. That is not a vote of confidence. It is a margin call wearing one.

The other push came from oil. Brent fell 2.08 percent to $101.71 a barrel overnight, per Reuters, on hopes for Iran diplomacy at the United Nations and a Saudi pipeline coming back. Cheaper oil makes every risky bet a little cheaper to hold, and bitcoin gets priced alongside them whether holders like it or not.

The number to watch is the one that did not move. CryptoQuant’s Coinbase premium, which tracks whether buyers on the biggest U.S. exchange are paying up, slipped back below zero, per Bitcoin.com. Forced buyers and cheaper oil can start a run. Somebody who wants to hold has to finish it.

At the time of this writing, bitcoin was $84,705.

READ THE COVERAGE →
Coindesk · MON SEP 21 · 7:40 AM ET
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