Bitcoin’s attempted bullish move slowed days ago after BTC was rejected at $94k. Since then, Bitcoin has traded within a thin margin, holding between $90k and $93k, indicating a market at a critical point.
At press time, the king coin traded at $90,739, down 0.12% on the daily charts. Amid this market stagnation, investors in the Futures market, especially whales, have reduced buy-side exposure.
Bitfinex whales aggressively close Bitcoin longs
Significantly, activities in the Bitcoin Futures market have heated up over the past days. In fact, according to CoinGlass data, there are more 2x longs than short positions on Bitcoin, reflecting a positive market perception.
However, in a major shift, whales have started to reduce their exposure. Thus, Bitcoin whales on Bitfinex began repeating a classic bull signal, closing long positions in BTC.
Source: Coinglass
After a year of overall declining market exposure, whales are closing positions at a significantly higher rate.
Historically, such market behavior has had major implications on BTC’s price movement, as it has preceded major price pumps.
For instance, the last time Bitfinex whales closed longs, Bitcoin pumped +50% in 43 days and hit a new ATH of 112k. This followed major shorts getting liquidated.
Therefore, if history is anything to go by, Bitcoin could see another major rally and clear all losses since October 2025.
Market liquidity remains stacked on the short side
Currently, BTC remains stuck between two major liquidation clusters, as per Coinglass’s Liquidation heatmap.
As such, there are short liquidation zones between $91.8-92.2K and $93.8k-$94.2k. In this zone, if Bitcoin breaks above them, shorts will be forced to close, potentially triggering a short squeeze.
Source: CoingGlass
At the same time, there are long liquidation zones around $89k and $88k, and if BTC drops below either, liquidations could increase downside risk.
However, market liquidity remains heavily skewed toward the short side, according to Cryptopulse. Although there are more longs around $88k, the most weight remains with short sellers.
Even more, short sellers have continued to pile up. In fact, Bitcoin’s Long/Short Ratio has remained below 1 for five consecutive days.
Source: Coinglass
At press time, this ratio was around 0.9, reflecting higher demand for short positions in the market. Usually, when this metric sits here, it suggests most traders are bearish and are aggressively betting against the market.
What’s next for BTC?
Bitcoin has shown relative weakness, driven by reduced capital inflow and extreme market calm. In fact, its Relative Strength Index (RSI) dropped from 65 to 52, making a bearish crossover.
Such a decline here suggests weakened market demand, although sellers have yet to take full control. Such conditions point to a fierce battle between bulls and bears.
Source: TradingView
Thus, the continuation of the status quo could see a prolonged sideways movement.
However, if demand finally outpaces sellers, we could see a breakout above $94k, with short sellers liquidated, further strengthening the upside.
However, if bulls fail to hold $90k support, Bitcoin will find support at $88k, which could see significant long liquidation, further strengthening the downside.
