Traders are increasingly fixated on a buildup of bids around $87,500 and persistent sell pressure just below $90,000, a standoff that has turned bitcoin’s price action into a slow-moving tug of war as the month draws to a close.
Earlier last month, bitcoin appeared unusually sluggish even as equities and precious metals surged to new highs. The cryptocurrency repeatedly stalled below the $90,000 mark — a failure that, in hindsight, foreshadowed the sharp slide toward $75,000.
At the time, market participants pointed to a range of factors, from a shift toward safer assets and cooling crypto demand to uneven spot ETF flows and routine month-end positioning. But some analysts say the clearest signals were already visible in exchange order books.
According to Keith Alan, co-founder of trading analytics firm Material Indicators, order-book data consistently showed heavy sell-side liquidity stacked below $90,000, effectively smothering rallies even when broader market conditions appeared supportive.
Alan described the behavior as “liquidity herding,” a tactic in which large players influence price by guiding it toward levels that suit their positioning. By placing sizable, visible sell orders, buying appears riskier to the broader market, prompting hesitation. Prices then drift sideways or lower, allowing those larger participants to quietly accumulate at better levels.
Unlike moves driven by news or fundamentals, this approach relies on market structure itself. It often emerges around options expiry, when keeping prices within a defined range can reduce losses or enhance payouts for dominant traders.
At the same time, order-book data showed a dense band of bids forming between roughly $85,000 and $87,500. That zone repeatedly absorbed selling pressure and acted as a near-term floor during bitcoin’s prolonged consolidation.
“If that support held, it could have provided a base for another push higher,” Alan said at the time. “But once it breaks, the unwind can be fast.”
That assessment proved accurate. When bitcoin slipped below the lower edge of the bid cluster, selling accelerated as thin liquidity amplified each move. The breakdown marked a decisive failure of the trading range that had contained prices for weeks.
Over the weekend, bitcoin dipped into the $74,000–$76,000 range, highlighting the fragile balance between dip buyers and forced sellers in a market still short on depth.
Alan had also warned that a monthly close below roughly $87,500 — the opening level for 2026 — would signal a clear technical breakdown. He dubbed such a scenario “Bearadise,” a phase in which eroding confidence allows downside momentum to feed on itself.
The influence of large traders on short-term price action through visible liquidity placement is nothing new in crypto markets. Whales and high-frequency traders have long used order-book depth to shape expectations, often leaving smaller traders caught on the wrong side of the move.
In retrospect, the same order-book dynamics that kept bitcoin pinned below $90,000 also left the market acutely vulnerable once that key support finally gave way.
Share this content:
