Bitcoin taps $85,000 for first time since January as crypto short liquidations surge

Bitcoin (BTC) briefly climbed above $85,000 on Monday for the first time since January, extending its recovery from last week's selloff as Asian and European equities advanced.

Bitcoin had traded near $75,000 on Sept. 15 before recovering above $80,000 on Friday. After gaining more than 5% over the last 24 hours, the foremost cryptocurrency is now down less than 3% year-to-date, though it remains around 32.5% below its October all-time high near $126,000.

Of the more than $750 million in crypto positions liquidated over 24 hours, CoinGlass data showed $648.3 million were shorts. Bitcoin positions accounted for $360.7 million in liquidations, with the largest single liquidation order on Binance's BTCUSDT market, valued at $11.3 million.

Among major cryptocurrencies, Ethereum (ETH) is up around 5.6% over the past day at $2,717, while XRP (XRP) has gained 7.8% at $1.49, and Solana (SOL) is up 7.2% at $115.75, according to The Block's prices page.

Oil falls, but rate concerns remain

Brent crude is down around 1.5% on Monday, with Saudi Arabia expecting to get about half of its damaged East-West pipeline capacity running again within days, Capital.com's Daniela Hathorn wrote in a market note on Monday. Crude exports have recovered from their August lows, but the risk of further Houthi attacks on Saudi infrastructure remains, she said.

Technology and semiconductor stocks led the advance in Asia, European shares opened higher, and U.S. futures are also positive. Hathorn said the lower oil price was helping investors' appetite for risk. She also highlighted renewed hope for diplomacy around this week's UN General Assembly, with Trump indicating he is willing to meet Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Following the Federal Reserve's 25-basis-point interest rate hike last week, Hathorn said markets put the odds of another increase in October at roughly 56%. The U.S. two-year Treasury yield is around 4.75%.

Meanwhile, fellow Capital.com analyst Kyle Rodda also flagged Thursday’s White House meeting between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping as a potential catalyst.