Bitcoin Stalls at $85K — Are the Bulls Losing Momentum Amid Volatility?

The cryptocurrency market stayed relatively calm over the past day, with Bitcoin trading between $83,000 and $85,000. The flat movement comes as traders digest economic updates—particularly the U.S. decision to suspend tariffs on some electronic imports—and as institutional players hesitate to re-enter aggressively.

Bitcoin’s volatility surged over the weekend, with prices first falling 2% and then rebounding by the same amount.

This movement resulted in approximately $341 million in liquidations, including $213 million from long positions, per CoinGlass statistics.

What raised eyebrows was Mantra (OM) landing in second place for liquidations, after crashing 90% and wiping out $74 million in open trades.

While traders were quick to blame large-scale dumping, the Mantra team insisted it was centralized exchanges that mishandled operations—not the investors.

Even though BTC nearly hit $85K in the last 48 hours, the crypto crowd isn’t feeling the hype:

• Fear and Greed Index? Just 29—still fear territory.
• Altseason Index? Stuck at 15.
• Bitcoin dominance? A firm 62.7%. 

Notably, Bitcoin’s dominance has increased by 6% year-to-date, with no immediate catalysts for altcoin rotation. The altseason narrative continues to lose traction.

So, What are the Carts Telling Us?

Bitcoin has finally cleared that nagging $83K diagonal resistance, but the next test looms: $85K. Not only is it a psychological milestone, it also collides with the daily EMA 50—a level that usually pushes back hard.

But here’s the twist: RSI is showing bullish divergence on the daily. That’s often a heads-up for trend reversal. Bulls might just be warming up.

Veteran trader Peter Brandt isn't convinced the rally is the real deal. He called the current momentum “just a corrective bounce” and threw shade at Elliott Wave believers. According to him, that theory doesn’t hold up in today’s market—and he’s not a fan.

Adding to the bearish chorus, YouHodler Chief of Markets Ruslan Lienkha highlighted the development of a Death Cross pattern on both Bitcoin and the S&P 500, a traditional red flag for downward momentum. Yet in BTC’s case, this formation has historically offered more noise than signal.

Volatility? Not So Fast, Says NYDIG’s Cipolaro

Crypto’s wild weekend swings might raise eyebrows, but Greg Cipolaro, a New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG) analyst, believes the space is maturing. In fact, he suggests that digital currencies are handling economic uncertainty—like Trump’s aggressive tariff war signals—better than traditional markets, which still flinch at every macro jolt.

Perhaps investors are increasingly searching for stores of value not tied to sovereign countries and thus not affected by the trade turmoil.

In the past, the mere hint of a crisis would send shockwaves through the crypto market, often reducing digital assets to little more than speculative toys. But something has shifted.

This time, Bitcoin held its ground—volatility remained in check even as prices dropped. Many altcoins, however, are still struggling to climb back to their April 1, 2025 benchmarks.

Institutional Investors Take a Breather

Institutional sentiment around spot Bitcoin ETFs took a moment of pause. On April 11, 2025, net flows barely moved—just a $1 million dip.

Bitwise’s BITB shed $12.3 million, while ARK’s ARKB absorbed $11.3 million, as though capital were simply being reshuffled, not withdrawn. Other funds stood still, mirroring the broader market’s hesitation.

You’d have to go all the way back to July 31, 2024, to find a day this quiet—when just $300,000 trickled into U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs.

Orange Dots Making a Comeback?

Michael Saylor, the architect behind Strategy’s bold Bitcoin bet, hinted that tariffs won’t halt their mission. Each BTC acquisition leaves a digital footprint—an “orange dot” on blockchain watchers’ radars. The most recent? Two weeks ago, when the firm added nearly $2 billion in Bitcoin, powered by a fresh round of preferred shares: instruments that pay out dividends but grant no say at the boardroom table.

$1.8 million Bitcoin? That’s the call from Joe Burnett, Director of Market Research at Unchained. He says BTC is still mid-run in its global bull cycle and believes the asset is well on its way to rivaling gold’s $21T market cap — a feat that would rewrite financial history by 2035.

When I think about where Bitcoin will be in 10 years, there are two models I admire. One is the parallel model, which suggests that Bitcoin will be about $1.8 million in 2035. The other is Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin 24 model, which suggests Bitcoin will be $2.1 million by 2035,

said Burnett.

Burnett concedes that future bearish cycles could see Bitcoin tumble by more than 80%, a scenario he frames as a high-conviction entry point for disciplined investors. His long-term perspective aligns with BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes, who has forecast a rally to $250,000 by the end of this year.

Read on: What Is OI? A Beginner’s Overview

As spot accumulation continues among long-horizon investors, the $85,000 resistance level now stands as a pivotal inflection point for short-term futures traders. A clear and confident break above this zone could ignite a rally toward the $90,000 mark with strong momentum.