Bitcoin’s attempted bullish move slowed days ago after BTC was rejected at $94,000. Since then, Bitcoin has traded within a narrow range and held between $90,000 and $93,000, indicating that the market is at a critical point.
At the time of writing, the king coin was trading at $90,739, down 0.12% from the daily charts. Amid this market stagnation, investors in the futures market, especially whales, have reduced their buy-side exposure.
Bitfinex whales are aggressively closing Bitcoin longs
Significantly, activity in the Bitcoin Futures market has increased in recent days. In fact, according to CoinGlass data, there are more 2x long positions than short positions on Bitcoin, reflecting a positive market perception.
However, in a major shift, whales have begun to reduce their exposure. Thus, Bitcoin whales on Bitfinex began repeating a classic bull signal, closing long positions in BTC.
Source: Coinglass
After a year of overall declining market exposure, whales are closing positions at a significantly faster pace.
Historically, such market behavior has had major impacts on BTC price movements as it preceded major price pumps.
For example, the last time Bitfinex whales closed longs, Bitcoin rose +50% in 43 days to reach a new ATH of 112k. This followed after large shorts were liquidated.
Therefore, if history is anything to go by, Bitcoin would see another major rally and recoup all the losses since October 2025.
Market liquidity remains on the short side
Currently, BTC remains stuck between two major liquidation clusters, according to Coinglass’ Liquidation heatmap.
As such, there are short liquidation zones between $91.8-92.2K and $93.8k-$94.2k. In this zone, if Bitcoin breaks above it, shorts will be forced to close, potentially causing a short squeeze.
Source: CoingGlass
At the same time, there are long liquidation zones around $89,000 and $88,000, and if BTC falls below either, liquidations could increase downside risk.
However, market liquidity remains strongly skewed to the short side Cryptopuls. Although there are more long positions around $88,000, the largest weight remains with short sellers.
In fact, the number of short sellers continued to pile up. In fact, Bitcoin’s Long/Short ratio has remained below 1 for five consecutive days.
Source: Coinglass
At the time of writing, this ratio was around 0.9, reflecting increased demand for short positions in the market. When this metric is here, it generally suggests that most traders are bearish and are aggressively betting against the market.
What’s next for BTC?
Bitcoin has shown relative weakness, driven by reduced capital inflows and extreme market calm. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) even fell from 65 to 52, which was a bearish crossover.
Such a decline here indicates weakened market demand, although sellers have not yet taken full control. Such conditions indicate a fierce battle between bulls and bears.
Source: TradingView
The continuation of the status quo could therefore cause a long-term lateral movement.
However, if demand eventually outpaces sellers, we could see a breakout above $94,000, liquidating short sellers, further strengthening the upside potential.
However, if the bulls fail to hold $90,000 support, Bitcoin will find support at $88,000, which could lead to a significant long-term liquidation, further strengthening the downtrend.