Crypto markets saw sharp, two-way volatility during early U.S. trading, as bitcoin (BTC) briefly surged from near $87,000 to above $90,000 before quickly reversing back toward the $87,000 level within minutes.
Bitcoin was last changing hands around $87,300, down roughly 0.5% over the past 24 hours, after having been more than 3% higher earlier in the session.
The sudden pullback came alongside steep losses in artificial intelligence-related equities. Shares of Nvidia, Broadcom and Oracle slid between 3% and 6%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell more than 1%.
AI sentiment weakened further after reports that Blue Owl Capital had backed out of financing a $10 billion Oracle data center project in Michigan.
The abrupt price swings triggered more than $190 million in liquidations across crypto derivatives markets over the past four hours, according to CoinGlass data. Long positions accounted for about $72 million of the total, while $121 million in short positions were also forced out.
Thin liquidity continues to drive bitcoin’s erratic and range-bound trading, leaving prices exposed to external market shocks, said Hunter Rogers, co-founder of bitcoin yield protocol TeraHash.
“The market looks increasingly fatigued,” Rogers said. “In that kind of environment, even modest selling pressure can lead to outsized declines.”
He added that holding the $80,000–$85,000 support zone will be critical in determining whether bitcoin sees fresh downside or manages to form a more sustainable rebound.
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