Bitcoin Tops $80,808; $409M in Derivatives Liquidated

Bitcoin reached an intraday high of $80,808 on Thursday at 11 a.m. EDT, prompting $409.07 million in derivatives liquidations, with $280.05 million coming from short positions.

At the peak, bitcoin’s market capitalization was about $1.60 trillion. Global crypto market value climbed to roughly $2.7 trillion. Bitcoin’s 24-hour trading volume was approximately $30.87 billion, with Binance, Coinbase and Upbit among the most active exchanges.

Most major tokens rose during the session. Ether gained about 3.3%, BNB increased 2.5%, XRP advanced roughly 6% and Solana rose more than 12% over 24 hours. The Crypto Fear and Greed Index registered 72, a level categorized as “greed.” Smaller tokens with the largest percentage gains included PROM, NPC, VET and TRUMP, while ONG, STX, RVN and POL were among the biggest decliners.

A market-data provider recorded $409.07 million in liquidations across derivatives markets, with short positions accounting for $280.05 million. About 89,215 leveraged traders lost positions during the price move.

Ether shorts were the largest single-category losses at roughly $106 million, followed by about $78.88 million in bitcoin shorts. Other notable liquidations involved positions tied to Solana, XRP, ONG, HYPE and ZEC. The largest individual reported liquidation was an ETH/USDT position on Binance valued at $12.4 million.

Market participants cited two primary factors behind the price strength. U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded net creations of about $232 million on Aug. 26, marking an eighth consecutive day of inflows. Officials’ announcement of a U.S. Treasury bond buyback was also noted as a factor supporting demand for risk assets.

Prediction markets and betting platforms reflected a more measured near-term outlook. Contracts that price future bitcoin levels showed expectations of higher prices, but at a slower pace than recent spot-market gains.

Liquidations occur when leveraged positions fall below maintenance margin requirements and exchanges automatically close the trades to limit further losses. The wave of forced liquidations on Thursday affected a wide range of leveraged traders across major cryptocurrencies.