Bitcoin Retraces Back Below $89,000 as Traders Unsure of Next Move

Markets are mixed on Thursday morning as cryptocurrencies failed to extend Wednesday’s short-lived rebound. Bitcoin and Ethereum traded slightly higher on the day, though prices remain range-bound after recent volatility.

The total cryptocurrency market capitalization stands at about $3.05 trillion, up 2% over the past 24 hours. Bitcoin (BTC) climbed about 1% in the last 24 hours, trading around $88,200 at press time after failing to hold above the $90,000 level.

mong the top-10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, Ethereum (ETH) is seeing the biggest gains today, up 3.6% trade just around $2,950. The rest of the altcoins in the group are up 1-2% today, holding steady, but posting weekly losses between 3% and 7%.

Fragile Range

Analysts at glassnode explained in a Dec. 17 research report that Bitcoin remains stuck in a fragile proce range as selling pressure continues to limit upside momentum.

“Bitcoin remains trapped in a fragile range as heavy overhead supply, rising loss realization, and fading demand cap recovery attempts,” the analysts wrote. They noted that repeated price rejection near $93,000 and structural support around $81,000 continue to define the market’s near-term battlefield.

According to glassnode, a decisive move higher would likely require either seller exhaustion above $95,000 or a new influx of liquidity to absorb supply.

As of Thursday morning, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index is still stuck in the “extreme fear” zone, with traders largely waiting to see if prices fall further.

Big Movers and Liquidations

Looking at the top-100 assets by market cap, Canton (CC) led gainers on the day, up about 4.7%, followed by Uniswap (UNI), which rose roughly 4%.

For Canton, the surge comes after the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation announced that it selected the network to tokenize a subset of the U.S. Treasury securities it holds.

On the downside, LEO Token (LEO) again posted the sharpest drop, sliding nearly 29%, while pumpfun’s PUMP was also among the top losers for the second day in a row, falling about 10%.

As for crypto liquidations, they reached roughly $376 million, per Coinglass data. Long positions accounted for the majority at around $229 million. Ethereum led liquidations with around $108 million, followed by Bitcoin at approximately $103 million.

ETFs and Macro Conditions

On Wednesday, Dec. 17, spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded strong net inflows of about $457 million, reversing two days of heavy outflows and lifting total net assets to roughly $112.6 billion, according to SoSoValue. Spot Ethereum ETFs, by contrast, continued to see net outflows, albeit of a more modest $22.4 million yesterday, with total net assets standing at about $17.3 billion.

On the macro front, U.S. inflation data surprised to the downside. The November Consumer Price Index report undershot expectations, with headline inflation at 2.7% year-over-year, below forecasts of about 3.1%, and core CPI slowing to 2.6%, the lowest level since March 2021.

Markets reacted relatively calmly, with Polymarket data showing slightly higher odds of a 25 basis point Fed rate cut in January, though no change to interest rates remains the most likely outcome, at 70%.