Bitcoin Price Taps $87K as SEC Moves to Unlock Institutional Custody

A brief period of relative volatility followed as the price fluctuated between $85,500 and $86,000 before another gradual climb pushed bitcoin to an intraday peak of $87,219. A rejection at $87,000 sent it lower before finding support above $85,000, leaving it with a daily gain of nearly 1% at a recent price of $85,188.

As expected, bitcoin’s sudden upward surge caught traders shorting the cryptocurrency by surprise. Coinglass data shows that in the last 24 hours, $142 million in bitcoin short bets were liquidated versus about $29 million in longs. This is a marked increase from approximately $35 million in leveraged positions liquidated a day earlier.

Bureau of Labor Statistics data released earlier showed nonfarm payrolls grew by just 29,000 jobs in September, well below the 90,000 expected. The downside surprise triggered an immediate pullback in the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) and Treasury yields as markets repriced expectations for upcoming Federal Reserve interest rate decisions.

A weakening labor market gives the Federal Reserve clear justification to accelerate monetary easing. Lower benchmark interest rates reduce risk-free real yields, diminishing the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding, fixed-supply assets such as bitcoin. Furthermore, the weak payroll data placed immediate downward pressure on the U.S. dollar—and given bitcoin’s historical inverse correlation with the greenback, a softer dollar provides direct tailwinds for bitcoin.