Bitcoin tops $85,000 for first time since January amid crypto liquidations

Bitcoin 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. It gained more than 5% over the last 24 hours, leaving it down less than 3% year-to-date and around 32.5% below its October all-time high near $126,000. CoinGlass recorded at least $750 million in crypto liquidations over the past day, most of them short positions. CoinGlass data showed that $648.3 million of more than $750 million in liquidated positions were shorts. Bitcoin positions accounted for $360.7 million in liquidations, and the largest single liquidation order was valued at $11.3 million on Binance's BTCUSDT market. Ethereum was up around 5.6% over the past day at $2,717, XRP had gained 7.8% at $1.49, and Solana was up 7.2% at $115.75, according to The Block's prices page. Brent crude was down around 1.5% on Monday. Capital.com's Daniela Hathorn wrote in a market note that Saudi Arabia expected to restore about half of its damaged East-West pipeline capacity within days. Hathorn said crude exports had recovered from their August lows but that the risk of further Houthi attacks on Saudi infrastructure remained. Technology and semiconductor stocks led gains in Asia, European shares opened higher, and U.S. futures were positive. Hathorn said lower oil prices were supporting investor risk appetite and cited renewed hope for diplomacy around this week's UN General Assembly after Trump indicated he was willing to meet Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. After the Federal Reserve's 25-basis-point interest rate hike last week, Hathorn said markets placed the odds of another increase in October at roughly 56%. The U.S. two-year Treasury yield was around 4.75%. Capital.com analyst Kyle Rodda also identified Thursday's White House meeting between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping as a potential catalyst.