Bitcoin hits $85,000 as short squeeze forces out $648 million of bearish bets — SkimNews
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- Bitcoin traded at $84,984, up 4.7% since midnight UTC, extending past the $82,284 high set Sept. 4.
- Short sellers absorbed $647.9 million of $746.6 million in 24-hour liquidations, including $159.9 million in the past hour alone, per Coinglass data.
- Open interest climbed 7.59% to $156 billion even as positions were force-closed, with 24-hour volume up 39% to $224 billion, suggesting traders are replacing liquidated positions rather than stepping back.
- Crypto futures flipped bullish with the taker long-short volume ratio leaning 53% toward buyers for the first time in weeks, and Bitcoin futures open interest topping 700K BTC.
- CRO futures open interest hit a record 536 million tokens, but annualized perpetual funding rates near 60% signal the long side is now overcrowded and primed for a potential reverse squeeze.
- Sui led major tokens, up 12.3% since midnight to $1.0073, with futures open interest climbing 28.9% to $402 million.
- AI tokens replaced layer-2s at the rally's front, with artificial superintelligence alliance gaining 8.9% to $0.1911 and bittensor up 7.0% to $280.13.
Why it matters: The source explicitly calls this 'forced buying more than fresh conviction' — the $648 million in short liquidations and rising 7.59% open interest show traders are chasing the move with leverage rather than retreating. That mechanic cuts both ways: CRO's funding rates near 60% show overcrowded longs elsewhere are now sitting on the opposite kind of squeeze risk.
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