Bitcoin started October with price swings near $85,000, finding support around $83,500 after hitting resistance above that level. The movement followed the release of better-than-expected personal consumption expenditures (PCE) data on Wednesday, extending bitcoin's winning streak into a second consecutive positive month.
The cryptocurrency experienced typical volatility throughout the session, sliding to $83,500 early in the period before rallying to $84,300, then dropping to just above $83,200 within hours. By early afternoon, bitcoin recovered to hover near $85,000, showing a 1% gain over 24 hours.
Liquidations Decline Significantly
Market liquidations cooled substantially as volatility eased. According to Coinglass data, total bitcoin liquidations fell to approximately $35 million, down from over $80 million recorded 24 hours earlier. Long positions accounted for 60% of total liquidations, while overall cryptocurrency market liquidations reached $193 million.
Bullish Sentiment and Price Projections
Bitcoin has trimmed year-to-date losses to just 3% after gains in the second half of August. The rally has sparked renewed market enthusiasm and ambitious long-term forecasts. Citigroup revised its 12-month bitcoin price target upward to $113,000 from $82,000, citing accelerating crypto market activity, favorable macroeconomic conditions, and expected resumption of bitcoin exchange-traded fund inflows. The bank projects approximately $5 billion in net ETF inflows over the next 12 months.
Bitcoin calls represent 60.88% of options open interest, while Deribit's October max-pain level sits near $76,000.
