Bitcoin was hovering around $92,000 on Friday after another failed attempt to surpass $93,000 overnight, extending the unstable and directionless structure that has defined recent sessions.
This move reinforces the same trend that has continued since late November: sellers are defending the mid-$93,000, buyers are stepping in near $91,000, and neither side is gaining enough momentum to establish a clear trend.
The one-month chart shows that BTC is still locked in a descending pattern from early November highs, with the latest bounce producing another lower high. The price peaked near $93,500 before rebounding, keeping the broader corrective pattern intact.
Momentum remains sluggish and intraday recovery attempts are fading quickly – a sign that liquidity is still weak above current levels. A clear break below $91,000 would expose the next pocket of support between $90,000 and $90,500, while the bulls need to reclaim $93,200 to invalidate the short-term downtrend.
Large caps were mixed heading into the weekend. Ether traded around $3,150 after modest losses overnight, while Solana slipped 4% and XRP fell almost 5%. Cardano was down around 2%. Market capitalization rose about 1% in the past 24 hours to nearly $3.2 trillion, continuing a slow recovery that began nearly two weeks ago after a seven-week slowdown.
ETH has dominated major assets over the past week with gains of over 5%. Zcash also outperformed with a strong move earlier in the session.
ETF flows showed clear divergence. Spot Bitcoin products saw net outflows of $14.9 million, while Ether funds saw an inflow of $140.2 million, suggesting new capital was moving from BTC into the Ethereum ecosystem.
Liquidation data from the past day shows that BTC saw nearly $45 million in long liquidations and $50.7 million in short liquidations. ETH, meanwhile, saw more than $103 million in short-term liquidations – a sign that traders betting against ether were caught leaning in the wrong direction as volatility increased.
Macroeconomic data added a layer of uncertainty. In the United States, ADP payrolls fell by 32,000 in November, well below expectations, signaling a more rapid cooling in the labor market. Wage growth has slowed and futures markets now assign a near 90% chance of a rate cut in December.
The dollar index swung sharply as traders adjusted their rate expectations, while risk markets overall saw volatility increase.
FxPro analyst Alex Kuptsikevich said bitcoin’s brief test of $94,000 earlier in the session was met with “not yet too aggressive” resistance from sellers, adding that the market may not face a firmer reaction until the $98,000-$100,000 zone.
He noted that the reaction to higher levels will help determine whether a more sustainable recovery is forming or whether recent gains are simply corrective.
Elsewhere, Bitunix analysts said the market had entered a “composite phase of macroeconomic turning point expectations and internal capital rotation within crypto,” pointing to uneven ETF flows and liquidation patterns as evidence of divergence in risk appetite.
They expect structurally volatile and limited trading to continue until Bitcoin holds above $93,000 or falls below $90,500.
Institutional developments helped support broader sentiment. Vanguard opened access to crypto ETF trading for its clients earlier this week, and Bank of America told institutional clients they could allocate 1% to 4% of their portfolios to digital assets. The CME has launched a VIX-style implied volatility index for Bitcoin futures, with versions for Ether, Solana and XRP to follow.
