New york: Bitcoin 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. According to Azeri-Press News Agency, BTC traded up about 1% over 24 hours and roughly 3% over seven days, while ether ETH held near $3,160, also higher on the day. XRP added around 3% to above $2.10, extending its early January outperformance, while solana SOL hovered near $136. DOGE eased on the day but remained up 17% over the past week, representing the highest gains among major cryptocurrencies. Derivatives positioning played a significant role in the market's movements. Liquidations crossed $260 million over 24 hours, with shorts accounting for approximately $200 million, indicating that late sellers were forced to cover their positions as prices surged. More than $121 million in short positions were liquidated in the past four hours alone, compared with less than $9 million i n longs. Long liquidations remained comparatively modest, reflecting a market with crowded and vulnerable bearish leverage. On the 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 coincided with increased strength in risk assets and another surge in commodities. Asian equities reached a record high as investors focused on technology shares, extending last year's AI-led momentum. Brent crude steadied after early weakness connected to the Venezuela developments, while gold jumped sharply back above $4,400 an ounce, and silver posted an even larger move. Traders indicated that the start-of-year bid reflects a mix of positioning and relative value, with cryptocurrencies still far below their peaks while other assets near record levels. Jeff Mei, chief operating officer at BTSE, expressed in a Telegram message that traders are seizing price inefficiencies in the new year, no ting that cryptocurrencies remain well off their all-time highs as equities and precious metals continue to set new records.