Bitcoin price defends $80,000 as bulls prepare another run at $82,000

Bitcoin price has risen more than 4% over the past 24 hours to around $81,000, holding above the $80,000 level after briefly breaking $82,000.

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller’s latest comments have driven much of the move, after he backed keeping interest rates unchanged at the Sept. 15–16 Federal Open Market Committee meeting if August inflation figures confirm continued progress towards the Fed’s 2% target.

Rate expectations changed quickly following the remarks. The market-implied probability of a September rate increase fell to roughly 50% from more than 63% a day earlier, easing concerns that tighter monetary policy could weigh on Bitcoin and other risk assets.

US Treasury yields moved lower as traders adjusted their expectations, with the 10-year yield falling towards 4.75% and the policy-sensitive two-year yield approaching 4.33%. 

The US dollar index dropped more than 0.5% at the same time.

US equities joined the move on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.18%, while the S&P 500 rose 1.06% and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.40% as concerns over a September rate increase eased.

Leveraged traders amplified Bitcoin’s initial price jump. CoinGlass figures put total crypto liquidations above $500 million over 24 hours, including roughly $416 million in short positions, with more than 119,000 traders liquidated.

Bitcoin shorts came under pressure as BTC crossed $79,000 and then $80,000. 

Forced closures of short positions require traders or exchanges to buy back the underlying exposure, helping accelerate the move towards $81,000 and briefly above $82,000.

Institutional demand has provided support as well. US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded approximately $101.2 million in net inflows on Wednesday, reversing $236.5 million in net outflows during the previous session. 

Bitcoin’s 24-hour liquidation heatmap now places one of the closest concentrations of leveraged positions between roughly $81,800 and $82,300.

Bitcoin 24-hour liquidation heatmap. Source: Coinglass.

A move through the area could force more short positions to close, while liquidity remains visible towards $84,000.

Below the current price, the largest nearby concentration sits around $79,800 to $80,300. A second cluster near $78,700 to $79,000 could become relevant if BTC loses $80,000.

BTC price analysis

Bitcoin was trading near $80,985 at the time of writing after reaching an intraday high of $81,426. 

The daily chart puts BTC directly below the May swing high and the 0 Fib level at $81,455, making this the immediate resistance that buyers need to clear on a daily closing basis.

BTC/USD 1-day price chart. Source: TradingView.

The daily Ultimate Oscillator has climbed to 58.87 after falling into the mid-30s during the August pullback. 

Its recovery above 50 has accompanied BTC’s rebound from the $76,000 area, while the reading remains below the 70 level commonly associated with strong overbought conditions.

A confirmed break above $81,455 would put the $82,000–$82,300 liquidation cluster within reach. 

Clearing that concentration could open a move towards $84,000, where the heatmap shows more short liquidity. 

The next psychological level would sit at $85,000 if buyers maintain control above $84,000.

The Fibonacci retracement identifies $76,915 as the 23.6% level and $74,106 as the 38.2% level. 

BTC has remained well above both following its August breakout, although a daily close back below $76,915 would weaken the current structure and expose $74,106.

On the 4-hour chart, BTC has spent much of the period since late August moving between roughly $76,000 and $81,000 before its latest push above the upper end of that range. See below.

Price briefly crossed $82,000 before returning towards $81,000, leaving $82,000 as the first level that needs to be reclaimed.

Aroon Up stands at 85.71%, compared with Aroon Down at 21.43%. The large gap follows BTC’s latest 4-hour high and shows that recent highs are occurring much more frequently than recent lows. 

Aroon Up remaining near the upper end of its range while Aroon Down stays low would support another attempt at $82,000.

The Chande Momentum Oscillator has risen to 65.87, recovering sharply from negative territory as BTC pushed back above $80,000. 

A reading this far above zero confirms strong positive momentum, though the indicator is approaching the upper part of its range after the latest rally.

Holding $80,000 would keep BTC positioned for another attempt at $81,455 and the $82,000–$82,300 liquidity zone. 

A 4-hour break below $80,000 would instead put the dense liquidation area immediately beneath price in play, followed by $78,700–$79,000 if selling carries through the first cluster.