Benjamin Cowen Concedes Error as Bitcoin Breaks Above $85,000, Sparking Heavy Short Liquidations

Benjamin Cowen has walked back his bearish stance on Bitcoin after BTC pushed through $85,000, a move that invalidated the downside case he maintained through the summer. On September 21, the Into The Cryptoverse founder said his call was wrong as Bitcoin climbed to its highest level since January, forcing traders heavily positioned on the short side to cover. Cowen's earlier framework leaned on historical cycle behavior. In a September 8 update, he put a 65% probability on the cycle low still being ahead, versus 35% that a bottom had already formed. He also highlighted Bitcoin's realized price around $53,000 as a key downside level that could have come into play if the market slipped into a deeper correction. "I was wrong. Not going to make excuses. I deserve to be dunked on," Cowen wrote. His thesis also drew on patterns from prior midterm years, particularly 2014, 2018 and 2022. Cowen had flagged October as a possible window for a new cycle low, with some scenarios extending toward $44,000. Instead, Bitcoin kept recovering, moved back above $80,000 and then cleared $85,000. The breakout put sharp pressure on bearish positioning across derivatives markets. CoinGlass data showed $647.9 million in short liquidations over 24 hours, out of $746.6 million in total crypto liquidations. Open interest rose 7.59% to $156 billion, signaling fresh participation even as shorts were forced out. Bitcoin's advance has also coincided with stronger institutional demand. Reports pointed to $433 million of spot Bitcoin ETF inflows on Friday. Strategy added another $75.7 million in Bitcoin last week, taking its holdings to roughly 846,000 BTC. With ETF demand firming, derivatives activity rebuilding and short covering accelerating, Bitcoin's rally has gained additional momentum after weeks of recovery.