Bitcoin reclaimed $80,000 on Thursday, trading near $80,270 and gaining close to 3% over 24 hours, as major altcoins including Ethereum, XRP, and BNB advanced alongside a broader stock market rally.
The crypto market's gains followed comments from Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller, who said in prepared remarks he would be "inclined to support" holding the Fed's benchmark interest rate at its current level if upcoming inflation data continues to improve. The statement shifted market expectations, with odds of a rate hike at the Fed's September 15-16 meeting falling to 50.4% from 63.2% a day earlier, according to the CME FedWatch tool. The 10-year Treasury yield dropped to around 4.73%.
The reversal came after a week of weakness triggered by Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's hawkish Jackson Hole remarks, which had pushed Bitcoin down to $76,877 and elevated rate-hike odds toward 56%.
Market Movement and Liquidations
Ethereum climbed 2.2% to approach $2,500, while XRP gained 6% over 24 hours. U.S. stock indexes moved in tandem, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 453 points, or 0.9%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq each gained close to 1%.
More than $500 million in crypto positions were liquidated over 24 hours, with short sellers accounting for over $415 million of that total, according to CoinGlass data. The liquidation cascade intensified in the final hour, with more than $329 million in short positions force-closed, including $86 million from Bitcoin-specific bets. More than 119,000 traders were liquidated in the past day.
Rising prices forced short sellers to buy back positions to limit losses, creating a squeeze effect that further accelerated price gains—a similar dynamic to a $570 million liquidation wave last month when Bitcoin rebounded from around $57,000.
Rate Expectations and Economic Data
Higher interest rates typically pull investment away from riskier assets like stocks and cryptocurrency by making cash and bonds more attractive. They also tend to strengthen the dollar, which weighs on dollar-priced assets like Bitcoin. The Fed's last rate hike occurred in July 2023, when it raised the benchmark rate to a 22-year high of 5.25% to 5.50%.
The next significant test comes Friday morning with the release of the August jobs report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Waller expects little change, noting that job creation averaged 60,000 a month through July and unemployment remained at 4.1%. A weak jobs report could move rate-hike odds as significantly as recent Fed commentary.
