Bitcoin's Range-Bound Price Action Sparks Manipulation Concerns

Bitcoin's price movement has sparked concerns of possible market manipulation, as the cryptocurrency continues to trade in a tight range despite significant institutional inflows. Since December 18, 2024, Bitcoin (BTC) has been range-bound, trading between the $92,400 support and $106,500 resistance, according to Cointelegraph Markets Pro data.

Bitcoin briefly escaped this range following US President Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20, when it briefly rose to the $109,000 all-time high before dropping back into its previous range. However, Bitcoin's range-bound price action may be manufactured, according to Samson Mow, CEO of Jan3 and founder of Pixelmatic.

“It seems like it’s some sort of price suppression,” said Mow during a panel discussion at Consensus Hong Kong 2025. “If you look at the price movement, we peak, and then we stay steady and chop sideways. And it’s good, you can say it’s consolidation, but it just looks very manufactured.”

Despite Bitcoin's temporary lack of upside, industry watchers remain optimistic about Bitcoin's trajectory for 2025, with price predictions ranging from $160,000 to above $180,000.

The US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and companies like Michael Saylor’s Strategy are transparently buying a “multiple of the Bitcoin mined every day,” Mow said. “If Bitcoin’s price isn’t moving despite institutions and retail buyers accumulating BTC, then someone must be selling,” Mow explained. “And you’ve got retail buyers who are dollar-cost averaging and buying and because the price is set at the margin, so that means somebody has to be selling.”

While last year saw “structural sellers” offloading Bitcoin due to bankruptcies and restructuring, that period is largely behind the market, Mow said. The crypto market saw another key development this week as FTX began repaying creditors, distributing over $1.2 billion to claimants. However, repayments are being made based on Bitcoin’s price from November 2022, when it was trading near $20,000. Some analysts believe this could create additional selling pressure as recipients of these repayments seek to realize their gains.