Bitcoin Whales Defend $90K as Sell Pressure Peaks

Bitcoin (BTC) has found a new key support level as its price action fails to retest the $100,000 mark. In a recent post on Feb. 12, Axel Adler Jr., a contributor to onchain analytics platform CryptoQuant, highlighted the role of new Bitcoin whales in the market.

Adler is concerned about a potential deeper BTC price correction, with the bottom of the three-month-old Bitcoin trading range at around $90,000 being a likely downside target. This is due to the newest Bitcoin whale cohort, composed of entities hodling coins for up to 155 days, having its aggregate cost basis nearby. Adler believes that large players who bought BTC at this price are unlikely to sell at a loss.

Seller exhaustion has been a popular topic among market participants this week. Analyzing spot buy and sell volumes on exchanges, Andre, European head of research at asset management firm Bitwise, said that price holding near $100,000 was proof that sellers had run out of ammunition to drive the market much lower. Sell-side pressure, accompanying data revealed, had reached its highest levels since the aftermath of the Three Arrows Capital hedge fund implosion in mid-2022.

Continuing, onchain analytics firm Glassnode revealed that the bulk of BTC being sold at a loss had been owned by short-term holders (STHs) who bought in up to a month ago. As of Feb. 11, those sellers had realized Bitcoin sales totaling $834 million, while loss-making sales from entities hodling for one to six months totaled a mere $126.5 million. Glassnode added another key support level to the radar in the form of the aggregate STH cost basis at $92,000.

Bitcoin remains trapped in a narrow range as sensitivity to macroeconomic and geopolitical events keeps a return to six figures out of reach. Data from various sources shows BTC price flatlining at $96,000 into the Wall Street open. While some expect a sea change and even new all-time highs for BTC/USD in the coming weeks, Adler is concerned with the opposite scenario — a deeper BTC price correction.