Bitcoin has experienced a remarkable surge, climbing more than $10,000 since the beginning of 2026. This impressive growth has sparked a widespread rally throughout the cryptocurrency market and boosted Polymarket’s prediction odds to 72% for Bitcoin reaching $100,000 by January.
Within the last day alone, over $780 million worth of liquidations occurred in the crypto space. The majority of these liquidations stemmed from short positions on Bitcoin and Ethereum as traders anticipated continued upward momentum.
On Wednesday, Bitcoin soared to its highest level in eight weeks, surpassing $97,300 amid renewed enthusiasm across digital assets. Starting the year near $87,000, this strong rally highlights an optimistic outlook among investors for further gains.
Market participants are increasingly betting on additional price increases; Polymarket now estimates a 72% probability that Bitcoin will hit the six-figure mark before January concludes.
This bullish trend lifted overall cryptocurrency valuations by more than 4% over 24 hours, pushing total market capitalization up to approximately $3.34 trillion. Major coins also saw significant advances: Ethereum approached $3,400; Solana climbed to around $148; and XRP rose to about $2.17—demonstrating widespread strength across key tokens.
The recent surge triggered substantial liquidation events totaling roughly $783 million within one day. Data from CoinGlass reveals that shorts accounted for nearly $682 million wiped out while longs lost about $101 million—most notably impacting futures contracts tied to Bitcoin and Ethereum.