Bitcoin Closes Above Its 50-Week Moving Average for the First Time in 45 Weeks
On September 20, Bitcoin closed at $81,159, surpassing its 50-week moving average of around $78,786. This marked the first time since October 2025 that it had finished above this key technical indicator, according to Galaxy Research. The move triggered trend-followers and led to a short squeeze as Bitcoin surged past $84,000 on September 21, resulting in over $300 million in forced liquidations of short positions within an hour. Alex Thorn from Galaxy Research noted that historically reclaiming the 50-week average has signaled bear market lows are behind us. The recent close also coincided with a 29% rise in Bitcoin's price over 35 days, reinforcing bullish sentiment among traders and analysts. However, for this signal to hold long-term significance, Bitcoin must maintain its position above $85,000 by September 27; otherwise, the breakout could be deemed false. Despite a strong weekly performance with a 10% rise over one month and a 5.3% gain in just 24 hours on September 21, Bitcoin remains down about 3% since January 2026 when it closed at $87,498.
Topics: 50-week moving average Bitcoin short squeeze trend-following traders