Bitcoin Defies Obituaries as Short Squeeze Sends Price Soaring Past $80k

A record Bitcoin short squeeze pushed prices past US$80,000 as Strategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor reaffirmed his faith in the cryptocurrency.

Saylor's 20-year bet on Bitcoin has not wavered through market fluctuations and obituaries. He believes it will appreciate about 30% a year for the next two decades.

This month, a record US$2.7bn of bearish crypto bets were liquidated in 24 hours, driving Bitcoin above US$71,000. It has since climbed past US$80,000, up more than 25% in a week.

Strategy's shares jumped 7.8% on August 20 and 6.1% the next day, and are up around 37% over five days. The company holds about 843,775 Bitcoin, one of the largest corporate hoards in the world.