Oversold and volatile: Bitcoin fails to find floor as market stress holds

Bitcoin News: While the market appears oversold on short-term indicators, analysts said that has not been enough to establish a durable floor

The cryptocurrency market remained under pressure, with Bitcoin holding above the $86,000 level but showing little sign of a clear directional trend. Price action reflected stress rather than conviction, as repeated attempts to move higher were swiftly sold into. Sharp intraday spikes were followed by equally rapid reversals toward the mid-$80,000 range, underscoring fragile investor sentiment.

 

Ethereum continued to struggle amid weak demand, raising doubts over its ability to stage a meaningful recovery in the near term. While the market appears oversold on short-term indicators, analysts said that has not been enough to establish a durable floor. Liquidity remains thin and recent moves resemble positioning clean-ups and stop-runs rather than genuine accumulation. Although institutional buying has briefly overtaken new supply, the broader tape still points to distribution and hesitation rather than a confirmed bottom.

 

 

Macro signals remain a headwind, not a catalyst, said Vikram Subburaj, CEO of Giottus.  “Risk appetite has softened alongside renewed weakness in US tech stocks. Capital continues to rotate toward precious metals, which are absorbing the safe-haven bid that crypto bulls once expected Bitcoin to capture,” he said. Year-end dynamics such as profit-taking, tax considerations and portfolio rebalancing are also distorting price action, encouraging traders to sell into short-lived rallies. “In this environment, options positioning and liquidity games are driving price more than fundamentals, leaving Bitcoin stuck in a volatile but directionless range,” Subburaj added.

 

Altcoins have borne the brunt of the uncertainty. Most large-cap tokens have underperformed Bitcoin during the drawdown, breaking key support levels on higher volumes with little evidence of dip-buying. Moves in tokens such as BNB appear driven by forced selling and stop-loss activity rather than rotation or selective risk-taking, Subburaj said. Until Bitcoin stabilises and macro pressures ease, altcoins are likely to remain highly reactive, with fragile rallies and amplified downside moves due to thin liquidity.

Bitcoin: Key levels to watch

At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at $86,523, down 0.24 per cent over the past 24 hours, with a trading volume of $43.94 billion. The token moved between $85,316 and $90,264 during the session, according to CoinMarketCap. Ethereum was under heavier selling pressure and was trading below $3,000 at $2,828, down 3.57 per cent, with a 24-hour trading volume of $25.86 billion. ETH traded in a range of $2,821 to $3,025.

 

Subburaj warned that Bitcoin’s hold above $86,000 remains fragile. While short-term indicators are oversold, repeated failures to sustain moves above the $88,000–$90,000 zone suggest confidence is still lacking. The $85,000–$86,000 band remains in immediate support, with a sustained break potentially opening the door to the low-$80,000 liquidity zone. 

 

He advised traders to stay defensive, keep core exposure light, avoid leverage and treat rallies as tactical unless Bitcoin stabilises above $90,000 with stronger spot volumes. Altcoins, he added, are likely to remain vulnerable until Bitcoin establishes a clearer floor and macro pressure eases.

 

Piyush Walke, derivatives research analyst at Delta Exchange, said the broader crypto market remains range-bound heading into the holiday period, with nearly 75 per cent of the top 100 cryptocurrencies trading below key moving averages. The market volatility, Walke said, was exacerbated by the US Senate’s decision to postpone crypto legislation until 2026, adding to regulatory uncertainty.

 

From a technical perspective, he said Bitcoin has strong support near $85,000 and resistance around $90,800, while Ethereum appears to have support near the $2,700 level.

Altcoin market snapshot 

Altcoins traded mixed during the session with most of them trading in red.  UNUS SED LEO (LEO), MYX Finance (MYX), Pump.fun (PUMP), Hyperliquid (HYPE), Aster (ASTER), SPX6900 (SPX), Bittensor (TAO), Immutable (IMX), ether.fi (ETHFI), World Liberty Financial (WLFI), Starknet (STRK), Arbitrum (ARB), Story (IP), Celestia (TIA), Lido DAO (LDO), Pudgy Penguins (PENGU), Filecoin (FIL), Render (RENDER), Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL), Optimism (OP), Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET), Mantle (MNT), Aerodrome Finance (AERO), Ondo (ONDO), Bonk (BONK), Stacks (STX), Injective (INJ), VeChain (VET), Internet Computer (ICP) and Ethena (ENA) were among the laggards, declining by as much as 24 per cent.

 

Conversely, Audiera (BEAT), Pippin (PIPPIN), Canton (CC), Midnight (NIGHT), Zcash (ZEC), Nexo (NEXO), Pi (PI), Monero (XMR), Tether Gold (XAUt) and PAX Gold (PAXG) were among the top gainers, rising by as much as 25 per cent, according to CoinMarketCap data.