Bitcoin broke above $85,000 for the first time since January 31, according to TradingView data.
Crypto analyst Ted Pillows framed the move as confirmation of a broader trend reversal. "$BTC has made its first higher high and also reclaimed the 50W MA," he wrote on X.
$BTC has made its first higher high and also reclaimed the 50W MA.
— Ted (@TedPillows) September 21, 2026
The bottom is now confirmed. pic.twitter.com/MH5CZdYz5s
Why the 50-week moving average matters this much
Alex Thorn, Head of Firmwide Research, highlighted a specific technical milestone tied to the breakout.
"BTC CLOSES WEEK ABOVE 50-WEEK MOVING AVERAGE FOR FIRST TIME IN 45 WEEKS," Thorn wrote, adding that "regaining the 50w MA has historically served as strong confirmation that bear market lows are 'in'." He noted Bitcoin is up 29% in 35 days.
The 50-week moving average has functioned as a widely watched trend indicator across Bitcoin's prior cycles. When price trades below the 50-week MA for an extended stretch, it typically signals a bear market or corrective phase, since the average smooths out short-term volatility to reveal the dominant multi-month trend. Reclaiming that average after 45 consecutive weeks below it represents one of the longer such stretches in Bitcoin's trading history, comparable in duration to portions of the 2018 to 2019 and 2022 bear markets, both of which were followed by sustained recoveries once price reclaimed the same average. Thorn's framing treats this specific technical signal as historically reliable precisely because it has preceded major trend reversals in multiple past cycles rather than being a one-off pattern.
The scale of forced liquidations behind the move
CoinGlass data showed 134,655 traders were liquidated over 24 hours, with total liquidations reaching $710.18 million. Of that figure, $612.62 million came from short positions and $97.56 million from longs, a lopsided ratio that reflects how many traders had bet against Bitcoin heading into the breakout. The largest single liquidation order occurred on Binance, a BTCUSDT position worth $11.29 million.
What traders are watching next
Crypto commentator Ash Crypto tied the move to a specific weekly close threshold. Ash Crypto wrote:
"If this level holds and we close the week above $83K, this could be the start of the biggest bull run."
The breakout follows a period of accumulation that CryptoQuant data had flagged earlier in the year, when large wallets added tens of thousands of BTC during what analysts characterized as a derivatives-driven phase lacking strong spot demand. The current move, with its heavy concentration of short liquidations, suggests at least part of the rally is being driven by the unwinding of bearish positioning built up during that earlier, more cautious phase of the market.
Matvii Diadkov
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