TLDR
- Bitcoin surged above $85,000, liquidating over $1 billion in leveraged short positions
- The Nasdaq Composite hit a new intraday record, driven by AI stocks and Alphabet gains
- Meta shares jumped over 20% since the launch of its Muse AI assistant on September 8
- AMD crossed a $1 trillion market valuation, with shares up roughly 185% in 2026
- Binance invested $100 million in Circle, the company behind the USDC stablecoin
Bitcoin held above $85,000 on Tuesday while the Nasdaq hit a fresh record high, driven by excitement around artificial intelligence. Meta and AMD led the charge on Wall Street, oil dropped below $100 a barrel, and Binance made a major move in the stablecoin space.
Bitcoin Surges Past $85,000
Bitcoin was trading around $85,600 on Tuesday after gaining roughly 5% in 24 hours, briefly touching $87,000 earlier in the week.
The rally triggered more than $1 billion in liquidations of leveraged crypto positions. About $844 million of that came from traders who had bet prices would fall.
Bitcoin alone accounted for around $608 million of those liquidations. Traders are now watching to see if new buying pressure can push prices toward the next key levels.
The short squeeze appears largely complete, meaning the next move will depend on fresh demand coming into the market.
Nasdaq Hits a New Record High
The Nasdaq Composite reached a new intraday record on Tuesday, extending a tech-led rally that started earlier in the week.
Alphabet rose around 2%, helping lift the broader technology sector. The Nasdaq had already closed at a record on Monday.
Falling oil prices and lower Treasury yields are also helping. Both reduce inflation pressure and make borrowing cheaper, which tends to support growth stocks.
Meta’s Muse AI Takes Off
Meta has become one of the biggest stories on Wall Street since launching its Muse AI assistant on September 8.
Shares jumped more than 11% on Monday and have risen over 20% since the launch, adding more than $200 billion to Meta’s market value.
Muse pulled in around 2.8 million downloads in the U.S. and Canada in its first 12 days. The AI agent can send emails, book travel, and complete transactions.
Investors see Muse as a potential new revenue stream for Meta beyond its core advertising business.
AMD Joins the Trillion-Dollar Club
AMD crossed a $1 trillion market valuation after shares surged 9.6% to a record high on Monday.
The company is now in the same valuation tier as other major semiconductor firms. AMD stock has climbed around 185% in 2026.
Investors increasingly view AMD as a serious competitor in AI computing infrastructure, not just a traditional chip company.
Binance Puts $100 Million Into Circle
Binance invested $100 million in Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, in one of the biggest corporate crypto deals of the week.
Circle shares rose after the news. The deal deepens ties between the world’s largest crypto exchange and a major stablecoin provider.
It also reflects growing competition among exchanges, institutions, and payment companies for a bigger share of the digital-dollar market.
Oil falling below $100 a barrel added to the positive mood across global markets. Brent crude slipped below $100 while U.S. crude traded near $95, helped by signs that Middle Eastern supply could improve.
With Bitcoin rising, the Nasdaq at record highs, and AI stocks surging, risk appetite is back. The question now is whether markets can hold these levels into the end of the week.
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