Bitcoin has pulled back from around $94,000 to $91,000, dampening optimism around digital assets, which entered 2026 on a strong footing. Beyond Bitcoin, Ethereum is down nearly 3.5% today, with losses spreading across the broader crypto market.
- MSCI announced that merely holding cryptocurrency reserves will not, by itself, affect a company’s inclusion in its indices, though this decision did little to shift market sentiment. At the same time, the passive-investment giant introduced new reporting requirements that could make it more difficult for companies to accumulate crypto assets while remaining eligible for index inclusion.
- Bitcoin entered the new year with a cleaner market structure and lower leverage following the sharp correction and consolidation phase at the end of 2025. Profit-taking pressure has eased significantly, supporting price stabilization at lower levels.
- However, the market remains weighed down by overhead supply from higher price levels, where many investors are still sitting on losses. This continues to cap upside attempts, making a reclaim of key cost-basis levels a prerequisite for a sustained uptrend.
- Corporate demand provides intermittent stabilization, but it remains episodic rather than a durable, structural growth driver.
- Flows into U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs have started to recover after late-2025 outflows. At the same time, futures open interest has stopped declining and is beginning to rise, pointing to a gradual return of institutional participation.
- The options market has undergone its largest reset on record, with more than 45% of outstanding positions cleared. This has removed structural hedging constraints and offers a clearer view of genuine risk appetite.
- Implied volatility has likely bottomed. Early-year options demand is nudging volatility higher, though it remains historically low.
- Options positioning continues to normalize: put premiums are compressing, call interest is rising, and new capital is increasingly favoring upside scenarios over defensive positioning.
At the same time, options dealers have flipped into short gamma in the $95,000–$104,000 range, which mechanically supports accelerated price moves during periods of strength. However, aggressive profit-taking around the $95,000 level highlights persistent impatience among buyers, with gains being quickly realized and losses minimized. Even the largest ETF inflows since October 2025 failed to push Bitcoin decisively above $95,000.
Source: Glassnode
From a technical perspective, Bitcoin has fallen back below the key 50-session exponential moving average (EMA50), currently near $93,000, calling into question the durability of the early-year bullish push.
Source: xStation5
Source: xStation5
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