Ethereum and Solana reach significant milestones as Bitcoin surges

 

Bitcoin has surged past $66,000, hitting its highest point since mid-June, when prices were just above $67,000.

Bitcoin's price has risen 4.7% in the past 24 hours, with buyers settling around $66,670. At the same time, Ethereum (ETH) has surpassed $3,500, and Solana (SOL) is trading above $170, showing gains of 3% and 8%, respectively.

Other altcoins are also seeing positive movement, with BNB (BNB) up 4.9%, Dogecoin (DOGE) up 4.5%, and Cardano (ADA) up 3%.

Bitcoin rises despite a global IT outage.

Bitcoin's price surge coincided with ongoing discussions about the cryptocurrency potentially being included as a strategic national reserve for the US.

A significant factor in Bitcoin reaching intraday highs above $66,800 was the disruption caused by a major IT outage on Friday, which grounded airlines and affected banks, media, and various global companies.

The outage followed a software update by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike.

As the widespread cyber disruptions highlighted Bitcoin’s strengths, the market appeared to respond with a renewed upward momentum. Additionally, there was a notable increase in spot ETF volume.

Shorts are feeling the pinch as Bitcoin's price soars.

Meanwhile, the price surge has significantly impacted shorts. As of 14:24 ET on Friday, more than $6 million in Bitcoin short positions were liquidated, while long positions saw only $79,700 in liquidations.

Data reveals that over the past four hours, bearish Bitcoin bets worth more than $12 million were liquidated, compared to approximately $1.6 million in long positions.

In the broader market, over $30 million in shorts have been liquidated in the last four hours, vastly outstripping the $5.3 million in long positions liquidated during the same period.

On Thursday, analysts at Santiment observed a rise in short positions with Bitcoin priced below $63k. As Bitcoin’s price climbed above $66,800, liquidations increased.