Bitcoin has started its “Uptober” trend, with the price rising steadily since the beginning of the month. After a challenging September, investors took advantage of October’s positive sentiment to buy during price drops, which pushed the price higher. However, short-term holders (STHs) have been selling near local high points, creating strong resistance around the $68,000 level, which could lead to further price pullbacks.
Bitcoin Aims for Painful Price Dip
Bitcoin’s 11% weekly gains have some traders concerned that the market could see one more price drop before continuing its rise to new all-time highs. The recent increase in Bitcoin’s volatility indicates that protecting against risk is becoming more costly, and borrowing money to trade is getting more expensive as volatility grows.
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Even traders using high leverage, like 50x, who bought at the peak haven’t been forced to sell yet, with prices consolidating below $68K. Data from IntoTheBlock shows that about 5% of the circulating Bitcoin supply is currently at a loss, while the remaining 95% is in profit. This suggests that there could be selling pressure from holders who are in profit, as they may choose to cash out as the market rises.
As Bitcoin struggles to stay above the $68K level, we could see increased selling pressure in the coming hours as short-term holders (STHs) continue to take profits during small price surges.
Realized profits have risen over the past week, indicating that some investors are cashing out. According to Glassnode, more than $11 billion in profits have been realized in just over a week, with $5.6 billion on October 8 alone, marking the largest profit-taking day since May 28.
Read more: Bitcoin Price Analysis: Momentum Slows After $67,400 Break – What Next?
Interestingly, the upward push came following stronger institutional demand this week, as seen in US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs. Coinglass data shows that these ETFs had inflows for three consecutive days, totaling $1.38 billion from Monday to Wednesday, with $456.90 million of that coming in on Wednesday alone.
What’s Next for BTC Price?
Bitcoin has strongly held above the crucial $66K resistance channel as buyers gain confidence. However, sellers are also defending the immediate resistance channels around 23.6% Fib level at $68K. As of writing, BTC price trades at $67,083, declining over 1.2% in the last 24 hours.
The key support level to watch is $65,000. If buyers can turn this level into support, the price could rally to $70,000, though sellers are likely to strongly defend the $70,000 to $73,777 range.
The first sign of weakness would be a break and close below $65,000, which could lead to a drop to the ascending trend line at $62K. If the price bounces back from the 50-day EMA, the bulls might attempt another push to $70,000.
However, if the price breaks below $62K, it would indicate that the bulls have lost momentum, potentially leading to a further drop to the 50-day simple moving average (SMA) at $60,987.
