BTC Remains Stuck Under $90,000 Until These Indicators Shift

As Bitcoin (BTC) remains around $87,000, onchain activity and exchange liquidity indicators imply the market is experiencing a period of low participation, hindering its ascent above $90,000.

Main points:

• Bitcoin is trading near $88,000 as network activity reaches yearly lows, coinciding with a drop in sell pressure.

• There has been a significant reduction in exchange inflows on Binance and Coinbase, indicating tighter liquidity conditions.

Declining network activity amid stable prices

According to data from CryptoQuant indicates a decline in Bitcoin’s network usage. The 30-day moving average of active addresses has fallen to approximately 807,000, the lowest it’s been in a year, showing decreased participation from retail investors and short-term traders alike.

The behavior of exchange flows supports this observation. The number of depositing and withdrawing addresses on Binance has also fallen, with both metrics hitting annual lows. This indicates a standoff in the market.

Low deposit activity suggests that long-term holders are not keen to sell, maintaining limited sell-side pressure. Simultaneously, reduced withdrawals imply that aggressive accumulation has paused as investors proceed with caution.

Liquidity decreases as exchange inflows decline

In the meantime, data on exchange inflow values shows changes in liquidity conditions beneath stable pricing.

On Nov. 24, when Bitcoin was trading around $88,500, the cumulative inflows over seven days reached $21 billion on Coinbase and $15.3 billion on Binance, signifying active repositioning.

By Sunday, BTC remained at $88,500, but inflows on Coinbase plunged nearly 63% to $7.8 billion, while Binance experienced a modest decline to $10.3 billion. This change indicates a significant contraction in new liquidity, pointing towards reduced short-term trading activity and tighter market conditions overall.

Related: Are altcoins rallying? Why ‘Bitcoin season’ is likely to persist into 2026

Key BTC levels could determine the next movement

Technically, Bitcoin is range-bound between $85,000 and $90,000, consistently failing to maintain a breakout above resistance. Currently, BTC price is below the monthly volume-weighted average price (VWAP) indicator, reinforcing a neutral-to-cautious sentiment.

Liquidity clusters on Binance indicate two vital magnet zones. Below, there is a buy-side fair-value gap (FVG) between $85,800 and $86,500, which contains a dense cluster of leveraged long positions.

A movement into this zone would put over $60 million in long positions at liquidation risk, making it a potential target for downside liquidity.

Related: Bitcoin perpetual open interest rises as traders anticipate year-end rally

Conversely, the upper sell-side FVG from $90,600 to $92,000 remains unfilled and holds approximately $70 million in short liquidation exposure. With liquidity clearly established above and below the price, Bitcoin’s short-term direction is likely to hinge on which side of the range is activated first.

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