Why Is Bitcoin Going Up? BTC Nears $85K as US Stocks Rise

Bitcoin (BTC) approached $85,000 on Wednesday, Oct. 21, as US stocks advanced after SpaceX announced $14.6 billion in third-quarter revenue, up 161% year over year — a move that raised the question of why Bitcoin is going up. According to CoinGecko, Bitcoin traded at $84,710 at 18:34 UTC, up 2.7% over 24 hours.

The immediate backdrop was stronger appetite for technology stocks after SpaceX beat revenue expectations. More than $549 million in spot Bitcoin ETF inflows over Monday and Tuesday added a separate source of demand ahead of Wednesday’s move.

Why Bitcoin Is Going Up as It Approaches $85,000 After Wall Street Opens

Bitcoin passed $84,000 after Wednesday’s Wall Street open, as US equities extended gains following SpaceX’s results after Tuesday’s close. The Nasdaq Composite initially advanced 0.7% to 26,601 before surrendering part of that increase.

Related: Independent Directors Weigh SpaceX-Tesla Merger With Over 30,000 BTC

The move brought Bitcoin back toward a round-number threshold after its mid-October retreat below $80,000. At $84,710, it needed about 0.3% more to reach $85,000, putting that level within reach without yet clearing it.

Sell orders around $84,000 began to clear as Bitcoin advanced. That area had capped several attempts between Oct. 11 and Oct. 14, making Wednesday’s move a test of whether buyers could turn an earlier ceiling into support.

Bitcoin also broke above its 200-period simple moving average on the four-hour chart at $83,878 for the first time since Oct. 14. Together, those developments improved the immediate technical picture, while leaving the daily close as the next test.

JUST IN: $84,003 Bitcoin 🚀 pic.twitter.com/ht1VmQnDQ5

— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) October 21, 2026

SpaceX’s Earnings Beat Changes the Stock-Market Backdrop

SpaceX’s third-quarter revenue was nearly 15% above expectations, alongside $4.4 billion in net income. Its 161% annual revenue increase gave technology investors a strong earnings result after the previous week’s selling.

The company had debuted on the Nasdaq in June in what Bitcoin Magazine described as the largest initial public offering ever. Its first months as a listed company therefore formed an important part of the earnings backdrop facing stock investors.

Truist Securities analysts said the results supported the investment case for AI cloud providers, according to Cointelegraph. Concerns over financing AI infrastructure had helped trigger a technology sell-off that started in South Korea and spread through Asia and the US the previous week.

Truist called the report “the first data point during the earnings season to support the bull case for AI cloud providers.” The recovery also reached the market where the previous week’s selling had begun: South Korea’s KOSPI finished Wednesday up 3.29% at 5,735.

SpaceX Chief Financial Officer Bret Johnsen pointed to launch leadership, recurring Starlink revenue and expansion of SI infrastructure as contributors to operating leverage. Those business drivers helped explain why investors treated the release as relevant beyond SpaceX alone.

Johnsen said that combination “continues to drive meaningful operating leverage.” Alongside the earnings release, Elon Musk had also discussed a potential SpaceX-Tesla merger, adding a separate corporate development to the backdrop ahead of Tesla’s own results.

Bitcoin ETF Demand Adds a Crypto-Specific Tailwind

Spot Bitcoin ETFs operated by BlackRock, Fidelity, Grayscale and other managers attracted fresh investment during the first two days of the week. Bitcoin Magazine cited CoinGlass figures showing combined inflows above $549 million.

That buying preceded Wednesday’s advance and gave Bitcoin a demand story beyond the stock-market reaction. The earnings beat was the immediate market backdrop, while ETF subscriptions showed investors were also allocating directly to Bitcoin exposure.

Earlier, Bitcoin had also moved alongside gold as investors sought protection against currency depreciation. The dollar weakened in August after the US Treasury said it would more than double government debt repurchases.

Bitcoin subsequently recorded its best quarterly performance in three years and its third-best August. Wednesday’s alignment with technology shares added a different influence to a year in which the currency-debasement trade had also mattered.

Bitcoin’s Recovery Follows a Difficult Start to October

The mid-October decline carried Bitcoin below $80,000, with the month’s low at roughly $79,700. Wednesday’s return toward $85,000 extended the recovery from that setback rather than establishing a new yearly high.

The wider trading structure remained bounded by a late-September range of roughly $79,700 to $87,400. Bitcoin had moved away from its lower boundary, but still faced resistance before reaching the top.

Bitcoin’s all-time high was $126,080 in October 2025. At $84,710, it remained about 33% below that record, despite recovering from the latest October decline.

Some analysts characterized Bitcoin as back in a bull market after spending much of 2026 in a bear market. That is an assessment of the broader trend; the more immediate test is whether the recovered support levels survive a pullback.

BTC Momentum Improves, but the Range Still Matters

Bitcoin had reclaimed $81,603, a support level established during its earlier advance from $62,763 to September’s $87,422.70 high. Losing that support during October’s decline and then recovering it made the level important to the rebound’s structure.

The 50-day exponential moving average stood at $80,782, above the 200-day moving average at $76,084. Bitcoin trading above both averages supported the constructive setup, with the shorter average providing a nearer test if selling resumed.

The relative strength index stood at 58.5, favoring buyers without reaching the 70 threshold commonly associated with overbought conditions. Trend strength was less decisive: the conditional bullish setup called for ADX to climb back above 25.

Decrypt’s technical analysis identified a daily close above $84,726 as the next upside trigger. A stall beneath that level would leave Bitcoin within its established range, consistent with ADX below 20 rather than a strong directional trend.

Short Liquidations Helped the Move, but Risks Remain

CoinGlass figures put crypto short liquidations at nearly $110 million over four hours as Bitcoin cleared orders around $84,000. Forced exits added buying pressure during the advance and made the move costly for traders positioned for falling prices.

That flow accompanied the recovery in stocks and earlier ETF demand. The next question for price action is whether buyers can hold the recovered levels after that burst of short covering, particularly through the daily close.

Trader Rekt Capital identified the $83,400 daily close as important to revisiting the local range high. A rejection there, he warned, could send Bitcoin below $82,500, undoing part of Wednesday’s recovery.

A deeper bearish scenario starts with a daily close below $81,603. That would bring the 50-day EMA near $80,800 into focus, followed by the October low near $79,700 and the 200-day average near $76,100.

What to Watch for Bitcoin Through Late October

A daily close above Wednesday’s $84,726 high would strengthen the case for testing $86,090 and then September’s high near $87,400. These are conditional technical levels, with stronger ADX part of the setup rather than a settled outcome.

The $85,000 threshold sits between the immediate breakout test and those higher levels. Holding above it would move Bitcoin further into the upper portion of its recent range; repeated rejection would keep attention on the support levels below.

Tesla and Meta earnings were due after Wednesday’s market close, giving investors another test of the technology sector’s earnings outlook. Their results followed the SpaceX release that had helped improve sentiment during the session.

The Federal Reserve’s next meeting was scheduled for Oct. 28. CME FedWatch assigned roughly an eight-in-ten chance of unchanged rates, with the benchmark rate at 3.75% to 4% following September’s increase; markets also expected a hike on Dec. 9.

Inflation remained a constraint on that outlook. US consumer prices rose 3.7% year over year in September, above economists’ 3.6% forecast and August’s 3.4% reading. The acceleration left investors facing renewed price pressure despite Wednesday’s improvement in stocks and crypto.

Energy prices added to those concerns. Brent crude traded near $108 a barrel on Wednesday after moving between $97 and $112 during October. The war with Iran continued to threaten supply, and Washington had rejected an Iranian plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in late September. Those developments kept an inflation risk in view ahead of the Fed decision.

Market Sentiment Is Recovering Without Broad Euphoria

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index stood at 55, within neutral territory and three points above the previous day. That placed sentiment between the anxiety of the earlier October decline and an outright greed-driven market.

The rebound extended across digital assets, with total crypto market capitalization rising 2.2% to $2.9 trillion. Ethereum gained 2.5% to $2,504, Solana advanced 2.2% to $108.18, and BNB rose 2% to $749. XRP outpaced those large-cap peers with a 4.1% increase to $1.37.

Zcash posted a larger move, climbing 11.2% to $1,332 and taking its seven-day gain to 15.3%. The breadth of Wednesday’s gains showed that the recovery reached beyond Bitcoin, even as sentiment remained neutral.

Prediction-market positioning was more restrained than the improving price chart might suggest. Myriad traders assigned a 31% chance that Bitcoin would touch $87,500 in October, down from 45% on Oct. 12.

A touch of $90,000 during October carried an 18% probability on Myriad, the prediction market operated by Decrypt parent company Dastan. Both that level and $87,500 lay above the upper edge of Bitcoin’s recent trading range.

For the current recovery, clearing Wednesday’s high and holding recovered support are the nearer tests. The gap between those immediate levels and the prediction-market outcomes shows how much further Bitcoin would need to travel before the more ambitious October scenarios came into view.

FAQ

What was Bitcoin’s price on Oct. 21, 2026?

At 18:34 UTC, BTC was priced at $84,710, with a 2.7% gain over the preceding 24 hours. Its market capitalization was approximately $1.70 trillion, and 24-hour trading volume was $30.1 billion.

Why did Bitcoin rise as US stocks gained?

The advance came as investors responded positively to SpaceX’s earnings beat and returned to technology shares. The improvement extended beyond the US: South Korea’s KOSPI finished Wednesday up 3.29% at 5,735.

What did SpaceX report for its third quarter?

The company generated $14.6 billion in revenue and $4.4 billion in net income. Revenue grew 161% from a year earlier and exceeded expectations by nearly 15%, making the release a significant positive earnings surprise.

How much flowed into spot Bitcoin ETFs on Monday and Tuesday?

Combined new investment exceeded $549 million across the two sessions. The total covered funds managed by several firms, including BlackRock, Fidelity and Grayscale, rather than a single ETF.

What price level did Rekt Capital say Bitcoin needed to hold on a daily close?

He focused on a close above $83,400 as the condition for another attempt at the local range top. His downside warning was a return below $82,500 if Bitcoin rejected that level.

Which company earnings were due after Wednesday’s market close?

Tesla and Meta were scheduled to release results after the Oct. 21 close. Those announcements provided the next earnings tests for technology investors following the positive reaction to SpaceX.

When is the next Federal Reserve decision relevant to Bitcoin?

The next scheduled meeting was Oct. 28, with futures pricing roughly an eight-in-ten chance of a hold. The benchmark rate was 3.75% to 4%, following the Fed’s September hike.

This article is for information only and is not financial advice.

What is the Crypto Fear & Greed Index level mentioned in the text?

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index stood at 55, placing market sentiment in neutral territory.

What was Bitcoin’s all-time high prior to this report?

Bitcoin’s all-time high was $126,080, recorded in October 2025.