PANews reported on December 18th that, according to Glassnode monitoring, Bitcoin's price remains in a fragile range, constrained by high supply pressure, increasing losses, and weakening demand. Recently, the price encountered resistance around $93,000 and gradually fell back to $85,600. Market structure shows that the dense supply zone between $93,000 and $120,000 continues to suppress any rebound. Meanwhile, the failure to break through the 0.75 Fibonacci retracement level (approximately $95,000) and the short-term holders' cost base (approximately $101,500) limits upward momentum.
Current demand is providing support around the true market average of $81,300, preventing further price declines. On-chain data shows that the amount of loss-making supply has risen to 6.7 million BTC, the highest level this cycle, with 23.7% of the circulating supply in a loss-making state, including 10.2% from long-term holders and 13.5% from short-term holders. The time pressure on loss-making supply is intensifying, and some investors may choose to sell at a loss due to weakened confidence, further increasing selling pressure in the market. Currently, loss-making sellers hold approximately 360,000 BTC, and if the price falls below the true market average of $81,300, it could lead to a surge in loss-making sellers.
Spot market demand is short-lived and highly selective. Coinbase's performance was relatively stable, but exchanges like Binance experienced significant traffic fluctuations, with no sustained accumulation trend observed. Corporate Bitcoin inflows remain sporadic and have not formed a continuous demand. The futures market has seen significant risk reduction, with no leverage-driven downward pressure observed. Funding rates remain neutral, and while leverage has decreased, it has failed to support price increases. The options market maintains a range-bound trading pattern. Short-term volatility further compressed after the FOMC meeting, while long-term volatility remained stable. The 25-delta skew indicates that downside risk is still priced in but is trending towards stabilization.
Options flows indicate that traders tend to sell put options to capture a premium while maintaining some downside protection. The concentrated expiration of options on December 19th and December 26th limited price volatility, and the market structure is expected to readjust after a large number of expirations at the end of the year.
Overall, Bitcoin's price is fluctuating between support at $81,000 and selling pressure at $93,000. A break above key cost benchmarks (such as the short-term holders' cost benchmark of $101,500) or the attraction of new liquidity would be needed to break the current range-bound trading pattern.


