🪙 Bitcoin's $100K Dream Delayed: Bears Maintain Control

🕯 Bitcoin investors faced a tumultuous week, filled with hopes of reaching the $100K milestone. Despite analysts predicting an 81% chance of BTC hitting this target, the weekend concluded without the expected breakthrough, leaving the market in suspense.

💔 The past 24 hours intensified the situation, with 160,527 traders liquidated, resulting in losses of $376.22 million due to volatile price movements affecting both long and short positions. This surge in liquidations underscores the extreme volatility in the derivative market, raising questions about a potential larger market shift.

🐻 Current long/short ratios indicate a bearish sentiment, with traders heavily shorting Bitcoin. This imbalance warns of excessive leverage in the derivatives market, which could lead to sudden corrections or a long squeeze – a hidden factor possibly driving Bitcoin’s recent reversal.

📉 Over $234 million in long positions were liquidated in the past 24 hours, a significant 65.96% increase compared to $141 million in short liquidations. This stark contrast highlights the volatility at play as "longs" were forced to close positions after Bitcoin dipped from its all-time high of $99,317 just two days prior.

⚡️ As Bitcoin experienced a slight downturn, traders exited their positions to minimize losses – a rational move given the high stakes. Bears took advantage of this situation, likely triggering a cascade of long liquidations.

📊 This aligns with the current bull cycle, where BTC has avoided overheating speculation due to the dominance of long positions. However, even a minor deviation from the bullish path provided an opportunity for bears to exert pressure, resulting in a long squeeze that forced traders to liquidate their positions and triggered a nearly 2% slide in Bitcoin’s price.

🔄 While a breakthrough to $100K could still happen, the market's volatility is becoming increasingly apparent. As BTC approaches this historic milestone, investors are adjusting their portfolios – either shifting focus to other high-cap assets or cashing out with substantial gains.

🐋 Interestingly, in the past two days, whales have deposited approximately 10K Bitcoins at a price of $98,121, totaling around $981 million. This reinforces earlier analyses highlighting how bears capitalized on the seismic shift as whales offloaded their holdings, triggering a price dip that allowed short-sellers to seize control.

⏳ Thus, while anticipation for the $100K milestone builds, the journey won't be straightforward. Each time Bitcoin nears this price target, a wave of departures from large HODLers, swing traders, or miners creates an environment for bears to take charge. This cycle traps Bitcoin in an ongoing loop, hindering a smooth ascent to its historic milestone.

$BTC