Bitcoin briefly climbed past $83,000 on Oct. 20, and short sellers took most of the day's liquidations. Bitfinex analysts warn that a drop below $79,821 could trigger another sell-off before the Oct. 28 FOMC meeting.
Bitcoin briefly surged past $83,000 on Oct. 20, hitting a daily peak of $83,335. The move came after the price tumbled below $81,200 the previous evening.
At around 9:45 a.m. ET on Tuesday, bitcoin kicked off a rally that reached the peak more than an hour later, pushing its market capitalization near $1.67 trillion. By 12:45 p.m. ET, the price had settled near $82,500.
Short sellers bear $45.7 million of liquidations
Bitcoin liquidations barely surpassed $76 million, just under $9 million below Monday's total. Short positions accounted for nearly 60%, or $45.7 million, compared with nearly $31 million in long bets.
Across the broader crypto market, short positions made up $171 million of wipeouts, versus over $125 million in long bets.
Bitfinex flags risk of a third flush
Bitfinex analysts warned that bitcoin faces the risk of a third liquidation flush this month as leveraged traders rebuild positions despite weak spot demand. They cited a 4.3% rise in futures open interest between Oct. 12 and Oct. 15, while the bitcoin price declined. According to the analysts: "the fuel for a third flush remains in place".
The analysts said the trigger will likely be any move below $79,821, which would force further long liquidations and accelerate the decline into the $77,600 to $80,400 accumulation band.
Demand also looks soft. New whale entities now account for 33% of total whale realized cap, up from 18% at the start of 2026, yet net 30-day apparent demand remains slightly negative at approximately -50,000 BTC. The analysts expect $81,300 to act as the center of the weekly range rather than its floor, and they say the bearish path is the more likely of the two. A further leg down in technology shares, they add, could push price through $79,821 before the 28 October FOMC decision.
Source: Bitcoin News
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