According to TradingView data, big holders on Bitfinex have been trimming long 
positions after a late-December peak of 73,000 BTC. The move follows a broader 
drop in whale holdings of roughly 220,000 BTC during 2025, a change that has 
analysts and traders parsing what comes next. Related Reading: Crypto Market 
Watches As Clarity Act Enters Senate Debate Next Week: US Senator Price action 
has been steady. Bitcoin has been moving inside a tight range around $88,000 
to $92,000 while the market seeks direction. Whale Moves And Historical 
Patterns Based on reports, some traders see this as a classic unwind pattern 
that precedes price gains. In early 2025, a similar fall in long positions 
coincided with Bitcoin slipping under $74k then staging a sharp rebound. That 
past recovery climbed to about $112k in 43 days after positions were flushed. 
MartyParty, a commentator on X, pointed to that episode when noting Bitfinex 
whales were &#8220;aggressively closing $BTC longs,&#8221; a behavior that has in the past 
been followed by big swings. Bitfinex whales are aggressively closing $BTC 
longs, a signal that historically precedes massive volatility. Last time this 
&#8220;unwind&#8221; happened in early 2025, Bitcoin was stalling at $74k. This precedes 
the Wyckoff Spring. See charts below. The flush cleared leverage and ignited… 
pic.twitter.com/2qfmH2eliJ — MartyParty (@martypartymusic) January 10, 2026 
Market Breadth And Investor Mix Reports have disclosed that on-chain tracker 
CryptoQuant finds overall whale holdings fell by over 200,000 BTC across the 
year, while smaller investors have increased exposure. This shift is being 
read by some as a sign that ownership is broadening. If more participants hold 
coins, price moves can be supported by a wider base of buyers. That does not 
guarantee higher prices, but it does change the way risk spreads through the 
market. Price Range And Resistance Levels Traders are watching a near-term 
ceiling around $94,000 that has capped several rallies. Bitcoin currently sits 
near $91.5k. A sustained break above that $94,000 level with volume would be a 
stronger confirmation for bulls. On the flip side, a failure to move higher 
could see the range widen to the downside, especially if funding costs rise or 
if liquidations pick up. Fractal Targets And Caution Some analysts are using 
past patterns to project targets. Based on reports, one scenario maps a repeat 
of the spring-and-rally sequence, aiming at $135k or more if history repeats 
closely enough. Related Reading: Bitcoin’s Next Peak Might Ignite ADA’s Rally, 
Says Cardano Creator That view depends on similar market conditions lining up, 
which is not certain. Whales are not a single, unified actor; different groups 
can close positions for different reasons, and some trades are used as hedges 
rather than bets on price direction. Volume, funding rates, and net 
positioning on major derivatives platforms will matter. A clean breakout above 
$94,000 with rising spot demand would support the bullish case. Conversely, 
rising selling pressure at that level could keep Bitcoin confined to the 
$88,000–$92,000 band until a new catalyst appears. The current action looks 
like a setup in progress — one that could lead to sharp moves once traders 
decide on direction. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

Bitcoin Whales Hit The Sell Button — $135K Price Target Now Trending

Ethereum’s social buzz has cooled to levels some analysts compare with the 
period before last year’s powerful rebound, but experts say that doesn’t 
automatically mean another big surge is imminent. Related Reading: Bitcoin’s 
Next Peak Might Ignite ADA’s Rally, Says Cardano Creator Sentiment Mirrors 
Past Lows According to Santiment analyst Brian Quinlivan, social media 
sentiment around Ethereum has slipped and now sits near the low range seen 
before the 2025 rally. Quinlivan suggested that the decline in chatter “argues 
against us falling too much further,” and he pointed out that price has often 
climbed after strong public doubt. On Aug. 23, Ether hit a fresh all-time high 
of around $4,900, a move that followed a recovery from a yearly low near 
$1,470 in April, based on CoinGecko data. That rally pushed the token back 
above its 2021 high. Since then, Ether has retreated about 36% from the peak 
and was trading at $3,089 at the time of the reports. Market Shock And 
Liquidity Events Reports have disclosed that a mass liquidation on Oct. 10 
triggered close to $20 billion of losses across the crypto market, and that 
event is linked to the more recent pullback. The liquidation hit many 
positions and was followed by a broader risk-off mood. Crypto fear gauges have 
been low. One index posted a Fear score of 29 on Sunday, while the Altcoin 
Season Index shows a Bitcoin Season score of 34 out of 100 — a reading that 
points to money flowing into Bitcoin rather than into altcoins over the past 
90 days. That mix of metrics is being watched closely by traders who size 
positions on sentiment shifts. Network Activity And Staking Interest Quinlivan 
also highlighted on-chain signals he finds positive. According to his view, 
activity on Ethereum’s network has been rising, and staking has drawn more 
attention from users. Increasing bandwidth is safer than reducing latency With 
PeerDAS and ZKPs, we know how to scale, and potentially we can scale thousands 
of times compared to the status quo. The numbers become far more favorable 
than before (eg. see analysis here, pre and post-sharding… — vitalik.eth 
(@VitalikButerin) January 8, 2026 Meanwhile, Vitalik Buterin has joined the 
public conversation about technical upgrades. Buterin said in an extended X 
post that PeerDAS, which arrived with the Fusaka upgrade, along with zero- 
knowledge proofs and sharding, will push Ethereum toward much higher 
throughput. He added that layer-2 networks like Base, Polygon, and Optimism 
will still be needed because many use cases demand speeds that are even 
quicker than mainnet. Related Reading: Crypto Market Watches As Clarity Act 
Enters Senate Debate Next Week: US Senator Institutional Views And Market 
Positioning Based on reports, Coinbase Asset Management president Anthony 
Bassili said in November 2025 that investors tend to view Bitcoin first and 
Ethereum second when building a core portfolio. That stance reflects how many 
large investors now treat Ether as the default number-two market cap asset 
rather than as a fringe bet. With that status, downside expectations can be 
smaller than for riskier tokens. Still, sentiment can remain low for long 
stretches, and being ranked highly does not remove volatility. Featured image 
from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

History Rhymes? Ethereum Sentiment Matches Pre-Rally Conditions

Crypto-related questions about pension payments are reaching Russia’s Social 
Fund hotline, suggesting digital assets are entering mainstream financial 
concerns.

Russians ask government hotlines whether pensions are paid in crypto

Bitcoin price held steady above the key support level at $90,000 as traders 
waited for the upcoming US inflation report, SCOTUS ruling on Donald Trump’s 
tariffs, and the CLARITY Act. Bitcoin (BTC) was trading at $90,590 on Sunday, 
a few…

Bitcoin price forms a bullish pattern ahead of US CPI data, SCOTUS ruling, CLARITY markup

Ethereum’s price action has spent an unusually long time moving sideways, and 
this behavior has tested the patience of many long-term bullish investors. 
When speaking of sideways movement, this movement has dragged on for many 
months, although Ethereum did manage to make a new all-time high in 2025. 
Interestingly, a technical analysis shared on X by Egrag Crypto shows how 
Ethereum&#8217;s current price action fits into previous playouts when viewed 
through an inverted monthly chart. This offers a perspective on what appears 
to be stagnation about to break into new price highs. Related Reading: 
Bitcoin’s Next Peak Might Ignite ADA’s Rally, Says Cardano Creator A Repeating 
Cycle With Changing Behavior The analysis is based on an inverted monthly 
Ethereum chart, which offers an interesting perspective that flips 
conventional interpretations of price movement. Ethereum&#8217;s inverted monthly 
chart shows a consistent pattern that&#8217;s changing with time in market structure 
across multiple cycles. A look at the inverted chart shows that previous price 
cycles were characterized by short accumulation phases followed by aggressive 
moves. As the market matured, those accumulation zones stretched out, and the 
resulting moves became less violent and more controlled. The first instance 
was in 2016, when Ethereum traded in a range for about 10 months before 
breaking out and going on a violent drop. A similar structure appeared between 
mid-2018 and mid-2020, when a longer consolidation phase preceded another drop 
that played out gradually at a softer pace. The current cycle, however, is 
playing out with a much longer accumulation. Therefore, the eventual drop 
should be shorter, according to Egrag Crypto. Inverted Ethereum Price Chart. 
Source: @egragcrypto on X A Drop Here Actually Means A Breakout The most 
important detail in this technical framework is that the chart is inverted. 
What looks like a downside move on this view actually points to upside 
expansion on the real Ethereum price chart. According to the previous 
outcomes, once Ethereum exits this range, the next move is likely to unfold 
quickly. It may not match the explosive nature of early-cycle rallies, but it 
is expected to be more orderly, sustained, and carry Ethereum to new price 
highs. When the structure is converted back into real price terms, Egrag 
Crypto identifies the $3,800 to $4,500 area as the first critical zone. This 
region represents initial resistance that must be cleared to confirm a bullish 
continuation. Only after a decisive move above this range would the $6,000 to 
$7,500 zone come into focus as a realistic upside target. Related Reading: 
Crypto Market Watches As Clarity Act Enters Senate Debate Next Week: US 
Senator The analysis also highlights a defined risk scenario. A pullback to 
the $1,800 to $2,200 region would postpone the breakout and act as a final 
shakeout before a final lift-off. However, as long as Ethereum holds its 
broader consolidation structure, such a retest would not invalidate the 
thesis. At the time of writing, Ethereum is trading at $3,100. Featured image 
from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

Cryptocurrency price in UAH