Bitcoin Stuck Below $85,000: Bull Run Shakeout Or Bearish Downtrend?

by Khyathi Dalal Benzinga Staff Writer

Zinger Key Points

CryptoQuant data reveals short-term holders and not whales are behind recent selling pressure.
Traders call Bitcoin’s current action dull, with no clear short-term direction in sight.
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Bitcoin BTC/USD has been trading sideways over the past 30 days, prompting a debate about when the next strong trend will emerge.

What Happened: On-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant on Wednesday analyzed the sell-side pressure impacting Bitcoin over the past two weeks.

Contrary to popular belief, whales are not dumping.

Instead, short-term holders are driving the recent pullbacks, creating turbulence without substance.

The data from its Exchange Inflow Age/Value Bands shows that short-term holders are the main source, offloading an average of around 930 BTC per day, compared to just around 529 BTC/day from long-term holders, who remain largely unfazed.

The on-chain data also provided a breakup based on wallet size showing that the retail and mid-sized cohorts: shrimps to sharks are doing most of the selling, while whales have barely budged, moving only around 70 BTC/day.

Source: CryptoQuant

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Overall, this correction is a typical Bitcoin shakeout, according to CryptoQuant, triggered by jittery retail participants responding to stagnant price action and low volatility and not a smart money exodus.

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Why It Matters: Crypto trader Altcoin Sherpa echoed the sentiment, describing the market as "boring" with no clear breakout levels or direction in the short term.

"Feels like one of those ‘could go up or down' zones," he said, noting that altcoins remain choppy too.

Meanwhile, Cold Blooded Shiller pointed to Bitcoin consolidating near a potential crossover zone, suggesting a larger move could be brewing. While the broader trend remains bearish, he sees the current range as a healthy setup for potential upside—if macro conditions cooperate.

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