Bitcoin (BTC USD) Price on the Edge of $120K Rally or $100K Decline

Bitcoin (BTC USD) price is attempting to recover from its sharp sell-off that bled the crypto markets between Saturday and Monday.

The largest cryptocurrency by market cap is up by a slight gain of 0.62% over the last 24 hours, and now trades at $113,161, representing a 3.45% rise from Monday’s low of  $109,448.

Bitcoin (BTC USD) On-chain Activity: Retail Vs Institutional

According to on-chain insights on CryptoQuant, a mix of retail investors, long-term holders, and institutional investors rushed to buy the dip.

However, the price remained stuck between $109,000 and $115,000. Two important metrics observed on the charts were net buying.

Net selling among retail traders transacting between 1,000 and 10,000 BTC, as well as whale and institutional traders transacting between 1 million and 10 million BTC.

On-chain data suggests that net buying among retail was reasonably high, while a majority of whales and institutions were net sellers.

As the price of Bitcoin approached $113,000, the intensity of selling reduced.

A large number of retail traders on both spot and futures markets were either buying or opening long positions throughout the Bitcoin (BTC USD) price dip.

The big whales and institutions were mainly selling or shorting. Notably, the volume of active net buying on the Coinbase BTC spot market reached $ 101.25 billion.

Institutions and whales sold roughly $7.5 billion since Sunday. As such, it’s reasonable to say that much of the current price support is provided by retail players keen on buying the dip and capitalizing on the discount.

$120,000 Bitcoin (BTC USD) Price Prediction

According to liquidation data from Hyblock’s Liquidation heatmap, a majority of the bids placed between $111,000 and $110,000 were absorbed during the weekend dip.

If this trend continues, the next cluster of bids is expected to be around $104,000.

It’s possible that both retail and institutions could offer sufficient purchasing power to support a breakout to the upper levels at $118,000 and $120,000. Yet, there is still increased selling pressure.

Traders seeking a consolidation phase should closely monitor the anchored aggregated daily CVD.

They need to gauge whether selling pressure is easing and if changes in volume indicate a shift in investor sentiment.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin (BTC USD) traders are closely watching the nearby $112,000 level as a key marker in the current market pullback.

Analyst Rekt Capital noted that while historical patterns suggest a “price discovery correction” is underway, the risk of further downside remains.

A decisive break below $112,000 could open the door to $102,000, with chart patterns hinting at a possible double top formation.

When is Top Cycle?

Crypto Twitter remains divided, with debate focusing on both the strength of current price action and the durability of the bull market.

Some traders argue momentum is fading, while others see room for further upside.  According to Rekt Capital, historical cycles suggest October could be the final window for a bearish Bitcoin (BTC USD) reversal.

This contrasts with the optimism that a Bitcoin bear market is still years away.

Noteworthy that the current bull market is fueled by additional factors, such as institutional adoption and a more crypto-friendly SEC.

David Bailey, Bitcoin adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, reinforced this view over the weekend, writing on X: “There’s not going to be another Bitcoin bear market for several years.”