Bitcoin reaches 7-month high as leverage and weak US demand raise caution

Bitcoin climbed to an intraday high of $87,395 on September 21, its strongest price since January 29. It traded at $85,326 at press time, up 4.90% over 24 hours. The move followed a weekly close above the 50-week moving average, which has historically signaled that bear-market lows are in. A short squeeze contributed to the rally, with Coinglass data showing $746.6 million in crypto liquidations over 24 hours, including $647.9 million in short liquidations. Market-wide trading volume rose 39% to roughly $224 billion as forced buying accelerated the climb. Santiment recorded the largest spike in bullish commentary since December 2024, with 954 mentions tied to bullish language compared with 269 tied to bearish language. The Crypto Fear and Greed Index rose to 78, classified as Extreme Greed, from 70 on Monday and 69 a week earlier. Strive bought 1,355 Bitcoin for about $107.7 million between September 14 and September 18. That exceeded the 469 Bitcoin it bought the previous week and lifted its holdings to 26,355 Bitcoin. Strategy disclosed a purchase of 950 Bitcoin after a two-week pause, taking its total holdings to 846,000 coins. According to SoSoValue, spot Bitcoin ETFs absorbed $999 million on September 21, their largest single-day inflow since October 6, 2025. Their total net assets rose to $110.1 billion from $102.5 billion. The funds took in roughly $1.3 billion across 14 sessions in September, compared with $3.5 billion in August. Two signals complicated the bullish outlook. Open interest across crypto derivatives rose 7.59% to about $156 billion even as short positions were liquidated, suggesting that traders opened new positions rather than reducing risk. Santiment said that synchronized confidence that prices would move higher can develop near local tops and that the current sentiment spike did not guarantee a reversal. The Coinbase Premium Index, which tracks buying pressure on the US exchange, remained negative at -0.028 despite recovering from deeper readings earlier in September. The recovery needs to hold to confirm domestic appetite. The coming sessions will show whether the move marks a durable trend change or relied too heavily on a short squeeze.