The fluctuations in Bitcoin’s price are sparking worries about potential market manipulation, as the cryptocurrency remains confined within a narrow trading range, despite substantial institutional investments amounting to billions of dollars.
For over two months, Bitcoin (BTC) has been stuck within a range, oscillating between the support level of $92,400 and resistance at $106,500 since December 18, 2024, according to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro.
BTC/USD, daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView
Bitcoin’s price briefly surged beyond this range following the inauguration of US President Donald Trump on January 20, reaching an all-time high of $109,000 before falling back into its established range.
According to Samson Mow, CEO of Jan3 and founder of Pixelmatic, Bitcoin’s consistent price pattern may be artificially created based on recent trends.
“It looks like a form of price suppression,” Mow stated during a panel discussion at Consensus Hong Kong 2025, elaborating:
“Observing the price movements, we reach a peak, then stabilize and move sideways. While one could argue it’s consolidation, it appears very orchestrated.”
“The extremely narrow range in which trading occurs seems quite unnatural,” Mow further remarked.
Bitcoin: The Foundation for a New Financial System. Source: Cointelegraph
Despite Bitcoin’s recent stagnation, market analysts maintain a positive outlook for Bitcoin’s future in 2025, with price forecasts ranging from $160,000 to above $180,000.
Related: Texas Bitcoin reserve hearing viewed as a ‘symbolic move’ for crypto — Analyst
Bitcoin remains stagnant amid ETF inflows and institutional purchases
The emergence of US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and entities like Michael Saylor’s Strategy are reportedly purchasing “multiple times the amount of Bitcoin mined each day,” according to Mow.
“If Bitcoin’s price remains static while institutions and retail investors are accumulating BTC, it implies that someone is offloading,” Mow clarified.
“Retail participants are dollar-cost averaging their purchases, and since the price is determined at the margin, it indicates that there must be sell-side activity.”
While last year experienced a phase of “structural sellers” liquidating Bitcoin due to bankruptcy proceedings and financial restructuring, Mow believes that situation is mostly behind us.
Related: Bitcoin sustains $95K support despite significant selling pressure
This week, another significant development occurred within the crypto market as FTX commenced repaying creditors, distributing over $1.2 billion to claimants.
However, these repayments are being issued based on Bitcoin’s valuation from November 2022, when it was priced near $20,000. Some analysts are concerned this may lead to added selling pressure as those receiving payments aim to capitalize on their profits.
“FTX is initiating payouts derived from the sale of Bitcoin, which was reportedly executed in the mid-20k range, indicating that someone is selling to offset this, or else, the price would have started moving upward again,” Mow stated.
Magazine: BTC exceeding $150K is labeled as ‘speculative fever,’ SAB 121 canceled, and more: Hodlers Digest, January 19 – 25
