Bitcoin falls back below $88,000 after a brief rally fades.

Cryptocurrency markets were jolted by sharp whipsaw moves during early U.S. trading, as bitcoin (BTC) briefly surged from around $87,000 to above $90,000 before quickly reversing and sliding back toward the $87,000 level.

Bitcoin was last trading near $87,300, down roughly 0.5% over the past 24 hours, after being more than 3% higher just minutes earlier.

The abrupt pullback unfolded alongside steep losses in artificial intelligence-related equities. Shares of Nvidia, Broadcom and Oracle fell between 3% and 6%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq declined by more than 1%.

AI sentiment was further pressured by reports that Blue Owl Capital had pulled out of financing a proposed $10 billion Oracle data center project in Michigan.

The sudden price swings triggered more than $190 million in liquidations across crypto derivatives markets over the past four hours, according to CoinGlass data. About $72 million in long positions betting on higher prices were wiped out, while $121 million in short positions were also forced to close.

Shrinking liquidity continues to drive bitcoin’s erratic, range-bound trading, leaving the market highly sensitive to external shocks, said Hunter Rogers, co-founder of bitcoin yield protocol TeraHash.

“The market appears increasingly exhausted,” Rogers said. “In this environment, even modest selling pressure can push prices meaningfully lower.”

He added that bitcoin needs to hold the $80,000–$85,000 support zone, which could determine whether the market sees fresh lows or manages to establish a more durable rebound.