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🩸BEARISH

BTC fails $81K breakout, $77K becomes weekend pivot

Friday's Deribit expiry cleared roughly $6.44B in BTC options and removed the positioning that had anchored price near $80K. With ETF demand offline for the weekend, the next test is $77K.

Bitcoin trades near $78,000 heading into the weekend, stuck between $77,000 support and $80,000 resistance after a sharp reversal from above $81,000 hit on Aug. 28. Kevin Warsh's Jackson Hole remarks lifted September rate-hike odds to roughly 55% from around 40% before the speech, turning a level buyers had briefly reclaimed back into resistance. Friday's Deribit expiry cleared roughly 81,700 Bitcoin options worth about $6.44 billion, removing the positioning cluster that had helped anchor price through the week.

Why it matters

The structural concern is that the bullish flow channel is offline exactly when macro pressure is freshest. US-traded spot Bitcoin ETFs logged nine straight days of net inflows through Aug. 27 totaling roughly $3 billion, but creation and redemption pause whenever US equity trading does. CME crypto futures, by contrast, switched to 24/7 trading in late May, meaning regulated institutional leverage can react directly to a Saturday or Sunday move well before Sunday evening's Globex reopen. That asymmetry tilts the weekend toward whichever side moves first.

Market impact

Below $77,000, the next defended zone is $75,000–$75,500, an area where the largest Deribit call interest still sits. A break below it opens $72,000–$73,000 as the next target, with $69,000–$70,000 reserved for a liquidation cascade or a fresh macro shock. Above $80,000, the Aug. 28 high near $81,300 is the first reclaim, with $82,000–$83,000 next, the range Citi now uses for its 12-month base case after cutting from $112,000 to $82,000 in July. The bank's recession-driven bear case sits near $53,000, well below any level on the current chart. Either side needs to break before US ETF desks reopen Monday.

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Frequently asked questions

  1. Why did Bitcoin reject above $81,000 on Aug. 28?

    Kevin Warsh's Jackson Hole remarks lifted September rate-hike odds to roughly 55% from around 40% before the speech, flipping a level buyers had briefly reclaimed back into resistance by Friday's close.

  2. What is the key level for Bitcoin this weekend?

    Roughly $77,000. Holding keeps BTC in a $76K-$80K consolidation; losing it with sustained acceptance shifts momentum toward $75,000-$75,500 first, then $72,000-$73,000.

  3. What did Friday's Deribit expiry change?

    Roughly 81,700 Bitcoin options worth about $6.44 billion expired at 08:00 UTC, removing a positioning anchor that had helped keep price pinned near $75K and $80K strikes through the week.

  4. Why are spot Bitcoin ETF flows relevant this weekend?

    US-listed spot ETFs logged nine straight days of net inflows through Aug. 27 totaling roughly $3 billion, but creation and redemption pause whenever US equity trading does, leaving that demand channel offline.

  5. What is Citi's current 12-month Bitcoin price target?

    $82,000, cut from $112,000 in July. The bank also set a recession-driven bear case near $53,000 and lowered its ETF inflow assumption to zero.

Source attribution
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