Bitcoin dropped below $85,000 on Sep. 23 after briefly trading above $87,000, as a rally driven largely by short covering lost momentum. CoinMarketCap's Alice Liu said the move to $87,000 reflected unwinding bearish bets rather than new buying, while US spot Bitcoin ETFs pulled in $999 million on Sep. 21.
Bitcoin (BTC) fell 2.16% to about $84,344 on Sep. 23. Earlier in the session, the token had touched a daily high near $87,279 before retreating. The pullback pushed price back below the daily chart's $85,743.69 upper Bollinger Band, following a sharp climb from mid-September lows near $75,000.
Price tests the 4-hour Supertrend line
On the 4-hour chart, the latest candle fell from an open near $85,650 to roughly $84,329, with a low around $83,864. Price stayed above the 4-hour Supertrend line at $83,592.86, though the drop brought that level back into view.
The daily RSI stood at 65.31, a reading above 50 that still favors recent gains but had eased after nearing 70 earlier in the rally. Meanwhile, the 4-hour Chaikin Money Flow held positive at 0.12, suggesting buying pressure had not fully disappeared as price pulled back.
Short covering, not new buying, fueled the rally
Alice Liu, head of research at CoinMarketCap, said Monday's forced short covering ran roughly ten times the value of long liquidations. Total liquidations had fallen to half their 30-day average by Tuesday. According to Liu: "The fuel is behind us, not ahead."
Her reading points to a question for the next leg of the move: whether spot buyers can sustain prices once forced purchases from closing short positions fade. But Tony Dicarlo, director of institutional propositions at RootstockLabs, offered a more constructive view, noting Bitcoin had risen about 29% over 35 days and linking the recovery to US policy developments and demand through spot Bitcoin ETF flows.
ETF inflows offer a test of spot demand
US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs drew $999 million in net inflows on Sep. 21, according to Farside Investors. The figure measures fund demand for that single trading day and is not proof that buyers will defend the current price.
The nearer test remains the 4-hour Supertrend near $83,593. Holding above it would keep the recent uptrend intact on that indicator, while a break would bring the $82,500 to $83,000 liquidity band on CoinGlass's liquidation heatmap into view.
Source: crypto.news
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