Analysis reveals lone Bitcoin trader holding BTC under $90K ceiling
Order-book examination reveals that Bitcoin's price movement is being constrained by a single market participant, with potential downside toward 'Bearadise' territory.
The Bitcoin (BTC) market remained below the $88,000 threshold heading into Thursday's opening of Wall Street trading, with market observers now focusing their attention on potential order-book manipulation tactics.
Key points:
- Bitcoin is facing fresh attempts to manipulate short-term price action, says analysis.
- Order-book data flags key support and the risk of a trip to "Bearadise" if it fails to hold.
- Wyckoff BTC price bottom calls grow more confident as the monthly close nears.
Bitcoin stands at "gateway to 'Bearadise'"
Information sourced from TradingView indicated continued weakness in BTC price performance, with the BTC/USD trading pair operating within an increasingly compressed range.
Following an unsuccessful attempt to maintain levels above $90,000 during the prior trading session, market participants experienced mounting frustration while equity markets and precious metal assets continued breaking all-time high records.
Through his most recent examination of exchange order-book liquidity patterns, Keith Alan, cofounder of the trading resource platform Material Indicators, presented a hypothesis explaining Bitcoin's inability to overcome current resistance levels.
"FireCharts shows $BTC price is being suppressed by one entity using a liquidity herding strategy to push price lower, potentially to get their own bids filled, or possible to keep price pinned in the lower end of this range before Friday's options expiry," he told X followers on the day.
Alan made reference to one of the proprietary trading instruments developed by Material Indicators that monitors liquidations occurring at critical nearby price points, in addition to tracking whale order volume activity.
According to previous Cointelegraph coverage, high-volume market participants have demonstrated a pattern of influencing price action through strategic liquidity deployment to manipulate market direction, often ensnaring less sophisticated traders in the process.
"A significant amount of bid liquidity is concentrating in the $85k - $87.5k range to strengthen support, and potentially provide a foundation for a bounce before the Monthly Close," Alan continued.
He issued a cautionary warning that if January concludes below the 2026 opening price level at $87,500, this would "serve as the gateway to Bearadise."
Wyckoff BTC bottom countdown continues
Adding to the discussion, pseudonymous trader CW characterized the $86,000 level as a "buying wall" being established by whale investors.
"$BTC whales are formed a buying wall at 86k and waiting. That area is the lower line of a falling wedge pattern. With the failure to break above the upper line, the possibility of touching the lower line has increased."
— CW (@CW8900) January 29, 2026
"The gap between the buy and sell walls is narrowing. Volatility is coming," an earlier X post forecast.
In a previous assessment, Wyckoff analysis led commentator MartyParty to predict that Bitcoin would put in a long-term low around the end of the month.
This scenario could witness BTC/USD declining below the $80,000 mark — a development that would function as the Wyckoff "spring" event preceding a dramatic market turnaround.
MartyParty uploaded two charts showing how the event could play out in the coming days.
