Bitcoin (BTC) persists in a well-defined bullish structure but recent activity in spot and derivatives markets suggests a temporary

Even though there’s been plenty of price action over the past several weeks, short-term holders seem to be showing quite a bit of restraint.

Bitcoin (BTC) has been persisting in a well-defined bullish structure, but recent activity in spot and derivatives markets suggests a temporary cooling-off phase.

Even though there’s been plenty of price action over the past several weeks, short-term holders seem to be showing quite a bit of restraint. Broader market data implies that we’re taking a strategic pause rather than experiencing a sentiment shift.

Although Bitcoin hit the $110K recently, several important indicators are now signaling a possible short-term pullback — what could be a perfectly healthy pause in an otherwise strong uptrend. At this point, it’s the $120K our eyes are most glued to, as this potential psychological milestone could trigger all kinds of renewed volatility, not to mention some profit-taking behavior.

Over the past 24 hours, Short-Term Holders have been selling an average of around 21K BTC via centralized exchanges (CEX), which is below the historical average level of selling pressure. This suggests that short-term holders are currently in a state of relative calm that is, …

In the last 24 hours, an average of 21,000 BTC has been sold through centralized exchanges by holders who qualify as short-term. This does sound like a lot, and it is probably too many BTC to part with for any sane BTC bull. Yet, for this phase of the market, the offloading we have seen is a pretty normal occurrence, with the much-anticipated rally not resulting in reactionary selling from the short-term holders that we would usually expect.

The sell-side pressure that we see now is a diluted version of what we had a couple of months ago, and it might even be the blush of a possible bottom. Of course, when a market is going up, we want to see the selling in the rearview mirror. And when a market is going down, we want to see the buying in the rearview mirror. Right now, we see in the rearview mirror that sellers are becoming fewer and sometimes even friendlier.

As Bitcoin moves nearer to the $120K mark, the current state of tranquility may not linger. Numbers that are round and close to psychologically significant levels, like $100K and $120K, tend to attract and demand our attention. They often act as focal points for retail investors and serve as convenient landmarks for decision-making among various market participants. A tour through profit-taking at either of these two destinations would certainly qualify as a potential path to peace for profit-seekers.

Alongside the cautious optimism in spot markets, the derivatives landscape is also noticing a reset. Open interest has recently dropped $1 billion, indicating that a large-scale unwinding of leveraged positions is happening. This reduction in leverage occurs when traders exit trades. They might exit trades to take profit, or they might exit trades to limit losses during heightened volatility.

Open interest is declining, and so is net taker volume. When aggressive traders in derivatives markets are taking up a position (buying in this case), they put money to work in the market. When they stop putting money to work and start taking money back out of the market, we start to see these kinds of numbers come up. They’re not just bad numbers; they paint a bad picture. And the picture they’re painting right now happens to rhyme with the $BTC picture.

Although the price could dip to $106,000 without violating the overall upward trend, it would represent a not-so-healthy market rotating away from not-so-healthy market participants. A number of recent price dips have marked transitions from the not-so-healthy phase of excessive speculation to a phase with stronger market participants (“strong hands”), offering a somewhat healthier basis from which to move on to new price highs. This transition has been necessary, and I would argue, constructive.

A $1B drop in open interest indicates a large-scale position unwind and reduced leverage. The negative net taker volume (purple bar) reflects seller dominance and a pullback from the local $110K peak. If the bearish momentum persists, BTC could test support around $106K.

The $120K price point is looming. It represents not just another increase in the nominal price but also a potential major psychological hurdle that could affect retail and institutional sentiment. If Bitcoin gets close to this number, it might spark a fresh wave of decision-making around it: are we gonna lock in profits, or are we gonna use this momentum to push through the next big threshold?

If the short-term holder group stays patient, as they are now, and if leverage stays low, then Bitcoin has a better shot at breaking the $120K mark with less pushback. Conversely, if the market starts to hit the “sell” button as Bitcoin nears $120K, then we might see it take a little dip before attempting another