Bitcoin hits 33-week high as analysts revive bull-market claims

Bitcoin briefly traded above $86,000 after Monday's Wall Street open, reaching a new 33-week high of $86,332 on Bitstamp and gaining 5.7% on the day. The move marked Bitcoin's first break above $86,000 since late January. Sunday's weekly close at $81,120 was Bitcoin's highest since the start of May. WTI crude oil fell as low as $91.59 per barrel after signals from Qatar's Foreign Ministry and US President Donald Trump that diplomatic negotiations to end the US-Iran war could resume. JPMorgan analysts said in a note quoted by CNBC and others that Middle East oil flows remained strong despite disruption to Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were up 1% and 1.6%, respectively, at the time of writing. The New York Times also reported that the US planned to extend its trade deal with China by six months ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit on Sept. 23-25. Crypto short liquidations neared $800 million over 24 hours. The Kobeissi Letter said in an analysis on X that crypto was in a "new bull market" and cited a 50% gain for BTC/USD over two months. Bitfinex Alpha, the research arm of crypto exchange Bitfinex, said further price upside would require buyer support, rising open interest and fresh capital inflows into US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds. It said a breakout would need net taker buying rather than profit-taking, and that coin-denominated open interest would need to expand to show fresh positioning rather than a move driven mainly by short covering. Bitfinex Alpha said a daily close below $77,100 would invalidate the structure to the downside and expose the True Market Mean at $76,677. Crypto trader and analyst Rekt Capital said BTC/USD had broken out of a cycle of lower highs in place since October 2025 and had also broken its prior macro downtrend. He identified a new target range between $86,681 and $93,659.