Bitcoin (BTC) appears to have retaken $70,000 as support, although the market remains cautious as technical charts show a setup leading to a January 2026 bull trap.
Bitcoin’s selling liquidity widened sharply during the last test of the range. According to crypto trader Ardi, Bitcoin demand orders have reached a two-month high. The merchant said:
“Bitcoin Asks Just Hit a 2-Month High. $1.57B in Selling Liquidity Above Price, Compared to $1.125B in Bids.”
Within 5% of the spot price, sell orders exceed demand by about 40%, creating a heavy layer of supply above the market price. At the same time, the bids form a thin support cushion under the price of BTC.
Ardi noted that the last comparable setup was in January after Bitcoin briefly rose above $98,000. A similar sequence followed Bitcoin’s recent move above $72,000 before the price returned to the middle of its range. An increase in liquidity during a retest often indicates that traders are taking advantage of the retracement to take profits.
Another location metric has also moved in the same direction. The 30-day moving average of Bitcoin net volume remained positive in March at $83 million, indicating increased buying activity through market orders.
Related: Bitcoin Price Analysis Warns of Potential Drop After $72K Liquidity Clearing
Will BTC’s Underwater Supply Limit Its Recovery?
Data on the value of short-term Bitcoin holders (STHs) shows that the average holder entered the market at much higher prices. The realized price of STH, which tracks the average acquisition price of coins held for six months, is close to $88,900.
According to Bitcoin researcher Axel Adler Jr., the largest supply cluster is between $86,000 and $99,000, with many coins collected between November 2025 and February 2026. This range forms the main breakout area for a large share of the short-term market, making it a key area of the market.
On the positive side, realized profit and loss data suggests that selling pressure has eased. Crypto analyst Darkfost noted a loss of around $611 million compared to a profit of $346 million last week, bringing the weekly net profit and loss to -$264 million.
That number is well below the weekly loss of $2 billion, down from $60,000 in February.
Compared to the January retest, the price of Bitcoin is now well below the main short-term cost cluster. This distance limits the amount of continuous selling that usually occurs during smaller rallies.
As a result, many short holders may prefer to wait for higher prices, possibly closer to $86,000, rather than sell at a loss after sustaining a one-month consolidation.
A bounce back from the $70,000 to $72,000 range will ease some of the near-term selling pressure, but a more meaningful reversal may require Bitcoin to retrace the $86,000 to $89,000 range, where most short holders have broken out.
Related: The strategy records the biggest STRC release day with an estimated 1,420 BTC purchases
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