As Bitcoin (BTC) continues to trade sideways, investors are wondering whether this leading cryptocurrency will end the year on a positive or negative note. Some analysts believe that closing above the recently lost levels could push BTC's price to new highs.

Red week, green year for Bitcoin

Since surpassing the long-anticipated $100,000 threshold at the beginning of December, Bitcoin has experienced two significant corrections down to the lower end of the one-month range. Throughout the month, the price of this leading cryptocurrency has traded between $90,000 and $108,000, fluctuating between $96,000 and $102,000 for most of December.

However, since reaching its latest all-time high (ATH) of $108,353 ten days ago, Bitcoin has lost the $100,000 support area, dropping to its lowest price in weeks. Over the past week, BTC has struggled to reclaim the $98,000 support area, losing the Christmas retest above this level on Thursday.

Currently, the largest cryptocurrency by market cap is moving in the middle of the monthly range, indicating a candle that "looks bad but is not the worst. Neutral and still a few days to go", as Altcoin Sherpa stated.

The analyst suggests that Bitcoin could witness "some strange price action in the coming weeks with desperation, followed by a completely extraordinary mission and a devastating altcoin season".

Meanwhile, Daan Crypto Trades describes the current price action of BTC as "the year-end drop". He notes that while Bitcoin is trading sideways, liquidity is "increasing on both sides", with a key area of interest below $94,000 and a crucial level above $100,000.

Some investors have asked the community to shrink the BTC chart, emphasizing that the cryptocurrency remains within historical ranges despite a sideways trajectory. If Bitcoin ends the year at the current price, it will still record a profit of 48.15% in Q4 and a 122% increase over the annual timeframe.

Risk of Bitcoin dropping to a one-month low

Analyst Carl Runefelt suggests that investors should monitor the $92,500 support area, as breaking below this level could push BTC's price to $86,000. Similarly, Ali Martinez has warned investors about a crucial level for BTC.

Martinez asserts that investors "do not want Bitcoin to drop below $92,730", explaining that "it is essentially a free-fall zone" if the leading cryptocurrency loses that level. According to the analyst, this leading cryptocurrency could drop to as low as $70,000 if it loses the key support area based on the UTXO Realized Price Distribution (URPD) chart.

In the previous post, he explored the bearish outlook as BTC could drop to a low of $60,000, noting that some experts have predicted a correction of between 23% and 36% for BTC.

Martinez believes that a drop of 25% to $70,000 could occur, as the URPD chart shows minimal support below the $93,806 and $92,730 levels. He warns that "If this critical demand zone does not hold, we could see a sharp drop to $70,085."

He also points out that Bitcoin has dropped below one of the "most critical support areas at $97,300", indicating a bearish outlook while the price has not been able to recover.

However, the analyst asserts that this outlook will become invalid if BTC "closes consistently above $97,300 and, more importantly, closes daily above $100,000". Martinez adds that reclaiming these levels could initiate the next leg towards the $168,000 target.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $94,587, down 1.24% on the daily timeframe.