hits $93,000, ether tops $3,000 as Venezuela president Maduro in U.S. custody

Bitcoin BTC$92,450.24 briefly touched $93,000 on Monday as traders leaned into a fresh risk bid across markets following a U.S. ousting of Venezuela, while year-opening flows pushed major tokens higher after a choppy finish to 2025.

BTC traded up about 1% over 24 hours and roughly 3% over seven days, while ether ETH$3,162.76 held near $3,160, also higher on the day. XRP$2.1392 added around 3% to above $2.10, extending its early January outperformance, while solana SOL$135.17 hovered near $136. DOGE$0.1493 eased on the day but remained up 17% over the past week, the highest gains among majors.

Derivatives positioning amplified the move. Liquidations crossed $260 million over 24 hours, with shorts accounting for about $200 million, showing late sellers were forced to cover as prices pushed higher.

More than $121 million in short positions were wiped out in the past four hours alone, compared with less than $9 million in longs. Long liquidations remained comparatively modest throughout, pointing to a market where bearish leverage was crowded and vulnerable. On leading decentralized perpetual-focused platform Hyperliquid, shorts still accounted for roughly 54.4% of all liquidated positions versus 45.6% longs, according to HyperDash.

The BTC rally came alongside strength in risk assets and another surge in commodities. Asian equities climbed to a record as investors piled into technology shares, extending last year’s AI-led momentum. Brent crude steadied after early weakness tied to the Venezuela developments, while gold jumped sharply back above $4,400 an ounce and silver posted an even larger move.

Traders said the start-of-year bid reflects a mix of positioning and relative value, with crypto still far below its peaks while other assets sit near records.

“We believe that in the new year, traders are jumping in to exploit price inefficiencies,” Jeff Mei, chief operating officer at BTSE, said in a Telegram message, noting cryptocurrencies remain well off their all-time highs as equities and precious metals keep printing new records.

A move in markets began over the weekend as the U.S. took Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro was into custody, with Donald Trump signaling a

He also suggested U.S. troops on the ground would not be necessary as long as acting Venezuelan president Delcy Rodríguez “does what we want.”