How Traders Can Make Money When Bitcoin Trades Sideways: 10x Research

As Bitcoin BTC/USD trades within a narrow range, analysts urge traders to pivot away from momentum-driven strategies and adopt professional-grade trading techniques to profit in a low-volatility environment.

What Happened: A 10x Research report on Monday outlined how Bitcoin's sharp rallies in 2024 were limited to just two months, February (+44%) and November (+37%), while the rest of the year was characterized by consolidation.

Despite Bitcoin's strong annual return of +113%, the report emphasizes that most of the gains were compressed into brief windows, and that the current trading environment requires more tactical positioning.

"Bitcoin tends to perform better between October and March and consolidate between April and September," the analysts stated. "It makes sense to adopt a more conservative, seasonally aware approach during this part of the year."

The firm notes that retail participation has sharply declined in 2025, as evidenced by falling volumes during weekends and holidays, a shift that underscores the growing influence of institutional players.

Also Read: Bitcoin To Outperform Gold In Coming Months, Says Anthony Pompliano

Why It Matters: Meanwhile, technical signals and on-chain metrics suggest caution.

The report identifies $73,000 as a likely downside limit but emphasizes the lack of strong upward catalysts in the near term.

Given this market backdrop, 10x Research suggests traders focus on structured strategies to generate yield or hedge risk.

Among these, selling options in a range-bound market is seen as a particularly viable approach.

"With implied volatility dropping from 73% to 37% ahead of and following the April 6 decline, traders who sold puts were able to profit both from the fade in downside and from the volatility collapse," the report noted.

This dual advantage, according to the analysts, reinforces the importance of monitoring volatility when constructing trades.

The research also highlights that when 1-month implied volatility falls below 40%, it is generally more favorable to buy options, either calls or puts.

Conversely, when volatility exceeds 60%, selling options becomes more attractive.

"In the current environment, selling puts or calls around the 80% and 120% strike levels has proven relatively low-risk and potentially income-generating," the analysts wrote, noting that since January 2024, Bitcoin has only moved outside the ±20% range on two occasions out of sixteen.

10x Research contrasts the current cycle with previous ones, emphasizing that the key driver this time is not retail euphoria or halving supply shocks, but rather structured accumulation by existing holders and institutions. This includes long/short positions and arbitrage opportunities like shorting Ethereum perpetuals against Bitcoin or exploiting funding rate dislocations.

What’s Next: The decline in new Bitcoin addresses further supports the observation that new retail inflows are not driving the market.

"Capturing periodic upside moves now requires more active, tactical approaches rather than passively holding spot exposure," the report stated.

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