Bitcoin (BTC) Struggles to Break Above $98K, Faces Resistance at Key Trendline

Bitcoin price surpassing $98,000 recently had revived the positive outlook of both traders and investors. The breaking of this essential price threshold created speculation.

Bitcoin price reached a high of $98,000 in recent trading sessions, indicating a potential for further upward price movement.

However, the coin encountered resistance at a key trendline and dropped below the $97K support level, retracing to $96,611.89.

The cryptocurrency faces unpredictable price movements as demand seems to be diminishing.

Bitcoin Price Faces Resistance at Key Trendline

Bitcoin price increases recently had traders and investors anticipating a positive outlook as the coin briefly surpassed the $98,000 level.

This breakout had many speculating on when Bitcoin would reach its next major target of $100,000.

However, the recent price movements do not seem to be meeting the high expectations that were building over the last couple of days.

Crypto analyst Ali Martinez observed Bitcoin facing major resistance at an hourly descending trendline despite the recent price increases.

In addition, Martinez noted several failed upward attempts by Bitcoin against this descending trendline with three consecutive rejections.

Bitcoin’s current upward momentum remains at risk as the repeated failures to break through resistance barriers could halt price gains.

A failure for the price to cross this trendline would result in a market correction, preventing Bitcoin from reaching $100,000.

Accumulation Trend Score Indicates Weak Activity by Major Investors

Moreover, the Accumulation Trend Score shows decreasing buying activity from major investors at the moment.

Data shared by Ali Martinez indicates that major market participants have stopped investing in Bitcoin at this point, which usually signals a bearish outlook.

Bitcoin accumulation by institutional investors peaked between October 2024 and January 2025 before institutions began pulling out of the market.

As a result, the current low accumulation activities are in stark contrast to what was observed earlier in the market cycle. Both major investment entities and retail buyers are showing less interest in acquiring Bitcoin at the moment.

The decreasing market demand puts pressure on Bitcoin prices, reducing its ability to sustain new levels of gains.

The lack of intense buying by investors may pose additional challenges for Bitcoin to cross important price levels, especially as it approaches the $100,000 mark.

Bitcoin Apparent Demand Declines

Furthermore, data from CryptoQuant shows that Bitcoin apparent market demand decreased significantly from a high of 279,000 in December 2024 to reach only 70,000 in January 2025.

The decreasing demand for Bitcoin affects its market price substantially.

Slowing market demand both decreases trading volume and price movement and indicates that the market will likely experience price consolidation.

Meanwhile, as economic volatility and the effects of inflation concerns are being felt by investors, it seems that the market demand has decreased.

In this regard, the lack of enough retail buyer interest to support the price growth of the market is being compounded by the decreasing accumulation of Bitcoin by major investors.

On the other hand, according to JPMorgan, institutional investors are cashing in profits due to the lack of positive market catalysts.

The firm noted that pro-crypto U.S. initiatives would only impact the market in the second half of 2025.

Bitcoin, along with Ethereum, faced “momentum decay” as funds with momentum-driven strategies decreased their portfolio exposure while Ethereum’s momentum indicators shifted into a negative trend.

At press time, Bitcoin price is down 0.76% and trades at $96,621.42. It faces resistance around $100K, having fallen below key support at $97.45K.

A breakout above $100K could target $102K, but it remains to be seen if it can sustain the momentum and come out of the current slump.