Bitcoin Rockets To $66,400, Triggering $131 Million In Liquidations

Bitcoin’s price surged back above $66,000 on Friday, reclaiming its highest market value since early June.

• The digital asset ripped from $64,102 at 13:27 UTC on Thursday up to $66,472 at 17:00 UTC. It trades for $66,332 at writing time.
• This is the highest price Bitcoin has achieved since early June, shortly after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved Ethereum (ETH) spot ETFs for listing on national securities exchanges. Experts say the first set of Ethereum ETFs are set to launch early next week.
• As Bitcoin surged, ETH is up 2.3% on the day to $3,488, and Solana (SOL) is up 7.9% to $169.According to Coinglass, over $131 million in liquidations have occurred across the crypto market in the last 24 hours. That includes 42,000 affected traders.
• The surge arrives during a worldwide computer outage that’s impacted the operations of several banks, airlines, TV stations, and other businesses.
• The problem, stemming from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, arose after the firm pushed out a defective upgrade that left several of its partner’s computers – including Microsoft’s Windows-based computers – unable to turn on.
• Due to Bitcoin’s decentralized nature, the blockchain network has remained fully functional.
• “Do you know what form of currency hasn’t been affected by widespread cyber outages? Bitcoin,” tweeted Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis on Friday. “Vires in Numeris.”