Bitcoin hits highest level since January at $85,000, as the market debates whether the 'crypto winter' is over — SkimNews
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- Bitcoin rose above $85,000 on Monday, trading at ~$84,256 around 06:35 ET (up ~3.8%) and touching $85,229, its highest level since late January
- Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan told CNBC 'it's crypto spring,' arguing that 'fundamentals went up' during the downturn — citing more onchain transactions and major firms like BlackRock getting involved
- Bitcoin remains down year-to-date but is up more than 7% in the last 5 days and nearly 35% over the last 3 months, still well off its $126,000 October 2025 all-time high
- BTIG analysts said in a Sunday note that as long as $75,000 holds, 'bulls can target a push through 82k on the way to' $90,000
- The Clarity Act was blocked by the U.S. Senate last week, but Hougan argued the failure could boost prices since the 'most pro-crypto SEC and CFTC in history' will set the rules
- Hougan said investors are rotating out of AI stocks back into crypto, because the AI boom had 'sucked all the oxygen out of the room'
- Crypto-related stocks including Strategy and Coinbase rose in U.S. premarket trading Monday
Why it matters: Momentum is building despite the Clarity Act's failure and bitcoin still being down year-to-date, driven by Hougan's cited factors: institutional deepening (BlackRock), more onchain activity, and a rotation out of AI. With $75K identified by BTIG as the floor, a push toward $90K and the $126K October 2025 high becomes the next technical test.
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