Cryptocurrency markets, led by Bitcoin (BTC), rose 2% over the past 24 hours to around $2.38 trillion in early Asian trading on Friday, September 27. For the first time since August, the price of Bitcoin closed above resistance around $65,000, signaling the start of a bullish fourth quarter.

The meme coin industry, led by Shiba Inu Coin (SHIB), Dogecoin (DOGE), and Pepecoin (PEPE), leads the bullish sentiment in the altcoin industry.

More than $142 million was liquidated in leveraged markets over the past 24 hours, most of which involved short traders, following the sudden surge in cryptocurrencies.

The main forces driving the cryptocurrency market's gains today

Growing demand from whale investors

As fears of further cryptocurrency capitulation have plummeted in recent years, on-chain data shows whales have significantly accelerated their accumulation. Approximately 5,000 Bitcoins (worth approximately $320 million) were withdrawn from centralized exchanges in the past 24 hours.

According to on-chain data analysis, a whale investor withdrew 3,501 Bitcoin from the Binance exchange in the past three days. Meanwhile, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF issuers recorded one of their best days in the past two months, with total cash inflows exceeding $272 million on Thursday.

Gold and stocks rise

The cryptocurrency market is gradually recovering from a macro bearish consolidation as gold, silver and major stock indices have edged higher recently. On Thursday, both gold and silver hit new all-time highs, marking the start of a macro bull market.

Meanwhile, lower U.S. inflation has led to lower unemployment and major stock indexes have responded positively, suggesting another rate cut is on the horizon.

Former Binance CEO CZ released early

After four months in the U.S., former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) is set to be released from prison today, earlier than expected. As a veteran crypto leader, his return is expected to spark bullish sentiment, especially in the BNB ecosystem.