[Digital Today reporter Hyunwoo Chu] Bitcoin rose above $66,000 to hit its highest level in a month. On July 21 (local time), Cointelegraph, a blockchain media outlet, reported that bitcoin climbed to $66,306 on Bitstamp, its highest level since June 17.

It faced resistance several times near $65,000 recently, but the upward move did not break. After breaking above $65,000, the view grew in the market that $67,000 or higher is a short-term target, and $70,000 was again mentioned as a psychological resistance level.

Trader Gele analysed on X that bitcoin is rising further after regaining the lower end of its trading range. Ted Pillows pointed to $67,500 to $68,000 as the next key resistance zone after bitcoin recovered $65,000.

Short-position liquidations also increased during the rise. CoinGlass data put total liquidations across the broader cryptocurrency market over the past 24 hours at about $200 million. Exitpump analysed the derivatives market and pointed to the possibility that the rally was helped by short liquidations, warning that real buying demand is not large.

In the options market, some demand also appeared for bets on bitcoin upside into late July. QCP Capital said there is some demand for a bitcoin rise toward month-end. It also pointed to markets watching the direction of monetary policy ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's next rate decision.

CME Group's FedWatch tool showed an 83.4 percent probability that the policy rate will be kept at the current 3.50 to 3.75 percent at the July 29 meeting. It put the probability of a rise to 3.75 to 4.00 percent at the Sept. 16 Federal Open Market Committee meeting at 53.8 percent. QCP Capital also mentioned that major global crude oil shipping routes have been closed again due to the war between the United States and Iran.