Bitcoin (BTC) faces an uphill battle to hold support after a macro shock halted the market’s rally.
BTC price has lost more than $12K in two days, but crypto traders and analysts are now aiming much lower.
BTC Price Analysis Warns $90K “Is Not the Bottom”
Bitcoin sent both retail and institutional investors into a panic when it hit $96K on December 19. Combined crypto liquidations in the 24 hours to press time on December 20 totaled nearly $900 million, according to data from monitoring resource CoinGlass.
Total crypto liquidations (screenshot). Source: CoinGlass
Figures from UK-based investment firm Farside Investors even show that US spot Bitcoin ETFs saw their largest outflow ever at $679 million.
US Bitcoin ETF Spot Net Inflows (screenshot). Source: Farside Investors
While this sell-off is in some ways a cleansing process, helping to remove excessive speculation, long-time market participants fear that worse is yet to come.
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Among them is popular X commentator BitQuant, known for his long-term bullish view on Bitcoin and frequently calling for $95K before the market broke the old historical peaks set in March of this year.
In its latest post, BitQuant warns that BTC/USD still needs a deeper bottom – and that even the slide to $90K seen earlier this month is not the bottom.
“Sorry, but no, $90K is not the bottom,” he replied to another user, asking where the market might turn.
An initial chart posted on December 10 used Elliott Wave theory to predict a potential BTC price drop to the mid-$80K range.
“For those who do not intend to buy the next dip, I advise to leave the chart and enjoy life until the moon shuttle is fully fueled,” part of the accompanying commentary said.
BTC/USD 4-hour chart. Source: BitQuant/X
Even lower targets come from on-chain data platform Whalemap.
Analyzing large accumulation areas by high volume investors after the recent price drop, the Whalemap team highlighted an area of interest 30% below the current market price.
“On-chain volume profile is showing massive accumulation of Bitcoin at 60K-67K. And a new accumulation band is forming at current price,” they wrote on X.
“So for those who HODL long term – risk and reward are clearly defined on a macro scale – no going below 60K in the near term.”
BTC/USD chart. Source: Whalemap/X
Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies among “extremely vulnerable” assets
As TinTucBitcoin reported, changes in US macro policy have dampened a broader risk-on asset rally that, to observers, appears increasingly illogical.
The Federal Reserve has fueled this reversal by reducing its forecast for the pace of interest rate cuts through 2025 amid signs of rising inflation.
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“While it is easy to blame the sell-off on the Fed’s aggressive move, we believe the root cause of the morning shock was the overly optimistic market positioning,” trading firm QCP Capital summarized in its latest newsletter to subscribers of its Telegram channel.
“Since the election, risk assets have experienced a remarkable rally without any counterweight, leaving markets extremely vulnerable to shocks.”
BTC/USD 1-day chart. Source: TinTucBitcoin/TradingView
BTC/USD was trading around $97K at the time of writing on December 20, according to data from TinTucBitcoin and TradingView, unchanged from the daily open.
