Bitcoin reclaimed the $77,000 level and pushed above $80,000 in a sharp rally that triggered massive short liquidations across the cryptocurrency market, according to market data and technical analysis.
The move began after BTC recovered from its September 15-16 decline below $75,000 and cleared the $77,083 four-hour market structure shift (MSS), flipping the short-term trend bullish. On the Bitstamp four-hour chart, BTC traded near $77,457, above both the fair value gap (FVG) between $76,600 and $77,100 and the MSS level, keeping the bullish structure intact.
Analysts identified the $76,600-$77,100 FVG as the key retest zone for confirming renewed support. Holding the FVG keeps the previous weekly high near $80,430 in focus, while failure would put $76,040 back in play.
Subsequently, Bitcoin experienced a sharp surge, climbing above $80,000. Chinese cryptocurrency miner and analyst Jiang Zhuoer stated that the rally may not be over yet, suggesting BTC could test the $83,000-$84,000 resistance zone. However, Zhuoer cautioned that after short positions are liquidated at that level, Bitcoin could retreat to the $72,000-$74,000 range, this time liquidating long positions.
The rally has been particularly punishing for short sellers. In the last four hours, a total of $306.55 million worth of positions were liquidated, with $286.14 million from short positions and just $20.41 million from long positions. Over 12 hours, total liquidations reached $411.62 million ($372.53 million shorts, $39.09 million longs), while the 24-hour figure climbed to $515.05 million, of which $457.26 million came from short positions.
