Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency, surged to a new record high of $125,708 at 4:45 UTC on the Bitstamp exchange. The flagship coin is currently changing hands at $125,111 after paring some losses.
Will Bitcoin hit $135,000?
As reported by U.Today, Standard Chartered analyst Geoff Kendrick recently predicted that the price of Bitcoin could surpass the $135,000 level “soon,” citing the ongoing US government shutdown as the key reason behind his bullishness.
Polymarket bettors currently see a 34% chance of BTC topping the aforementioned level in the near future.
Shorts getting wiped out
At the same time, Bitcoin shorts are being wiped out en masse, with $221.58 million worth of futures being liquidated over the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko data. Notably, short positions account for a whopping 96% of all liquidations on the Bybit exchange over the past four hours.