Sellers Defend $90K While Spot Outflows Keep BTC Trapped

• BTC remains capped below $90K as a descending trendline and EMA cluster block recoveries.
• Spot outflows continue, with $21.6 million leaving exchanges on December 24.
• Weak momentum and fading liquidity keep Bitcoin trapped in bearish consolidation.

Bitcoin price today trades near $87,000, hovering just above a fragile short-term support zone as sellers continue to dictate structure. The market remains pinned beneath a steep descending trendline from the October peak, while persistent spot outflows limit recovery attempts. With volatility compressing and momentum fading, Bitcoin is approaching another decision point heading into December 25.

Trendline Breakdown Keeps Structure Heavy

On the daily chart, Bitcoin remains in a corrective phase after losing the rising trendline that supported the rally into October highs above $126,000. That break shifted market character decisively. Since then, price has printed lower highs and lower lows, with each bounce failing beneath dynamic resistance.

The descending trendline now intersects near the $90,000 to $92,000 region. Every attempt to reclaim that area has stalled, reinforcing the bearish bias. Bitcoin also trades well below its major EMA cluster. The 20-day EMA sits near $88,800, the 50-day EMA around $93,000, and the 100-day EMA close to $98,700. The 200-day EMA near $101,700 remains far above price, underscoring how far the market has slipped from its prior trend.

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Supertrend remains firmly red on the daily timeframe, confirming that sellers maintain directional control. Until price can close above at least the 50-day EMA, the broader structure remains corrective.

Short-Term Charts Show Weak Follow-Through

The 2-hour chart reinforces the lack of conviction. Price continues to drift sideways between $86,000 and $89,000, with Parabolic SAR dots remaining mostly above price. Each short-lived bounce has been met with selling near $88,500 to $89,000.

Directional indicators also point to fading momentum. DMI readings show weakening trend strength, with no clear dominance from buyers. This aligns with the broader picture of consolidation inside a bearish framework rather than accumulation ahead of a breakout.

Spot Outflows Keep Pressure On Price

Flow data continues to validate the chart structure. Bitcoin spot netflows remain negative, signaling that liquidity is leaving exchanges rather than entering them. 

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On December 24, netflows showed an additional $21.6 million in outflows, extending a pattern that has persisted through most of the fourth quarter.

Narrative Weighs On Sentiment Into Year-End

Beyond the charts, Bitcoin’s year-end weakness reflects structural pressure rather than missing macro support. Analysts at the London Crypto Club highlight steady, price-insensitive selling from long-term holders distributing near the $100,000 level. That supply has acted as a mechanical overhang, absorbing bids even as liquidity conditions improved.

Belief in Bitcoin’s four-year cycle has also turned self-defeating. With the halving narrative widely anticipated, traders front-ran the move, triggering earlier profit-taking instead of trend extension. As a result, rallies have stalled quickly rather than compounding.

October’s $19 billion liquidation event left deeper scars. While price rebounded, liquidity providers appear to have reduced exposure afterward, thinning order books and limiting follow-through into December. The market has stabilized, but trend strength remains weak.

Bitcoin has also behaved as a liquidity-sensitive risk asset rather than a hedge. As high-beta trades cooled in the second half of 2025, crypto tracked risk appetite lower, even as gold and equities held firmer. The divergence reflects positioning, not a broken thesis.

Longer term, analysts remain constructive into 2026, pointing to institutional adoption, regulatory progress, and expanding liquidity. For now, supply and positioning continue to outweigh narrative, keeping pressure on price until structure improves.

Outlook. Will Bitcoin Go Up?

Bitcoin remains in consolidation, but within a bearish structure.

• Bullish case: A strong close above $93,000 flips the trendline and reopens upside toward $98,000 and $101,000.
• Bearish case: Losing $85,000 confirms breakdown and exposes $82,000, with risk extending toward $78,000.

Until price reclaims key resistance with improving flows, sellers remain in control and patience favors confirmation over anticipation.

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