Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at about $107,500, as it hits the latest chapter in a period of mostly sideways movement since achieving an all-time high of over $126,000 on October 6.
Despite dropping recently, the asset has gone up almost 52% year over year, from $72,350 on October 31, 2024, to its current level, showing that long-term fundamentals are still strong, even though market sentiment may be cooling.
Understanding the Current Slowdown
According to crypto analyst Pierre Rochard, Bitcoin’s current lack of movement is due to “OG whales taking profits after an epic decade” and traders moving their attention to AI-driven tech stocks like NVIDIA and safe havens like gold. He, nonetheless, noted that these were short-term pressures and that Bitcoin’s “intrinsic utility and fundamental value have only increased.”
Other users agreed, with one pointing out that the market changes were “cyclical rotations, not structural shifts.” The account added that old investors cashing out, AI plays taking in liquidity, and the increased hedging into gold were typical occurrences in the dynamics that often characterize the end of a cycle.
“When liquidity normalizes and macro tailwinds return,” they wrote, “capital will rotate back toward scarcity and neutrality — and Bitcoin remains the purest expression of both.”
Indeed, long-term holders have been taking profits, with a report from Glassnode that came out in August revealing that those who had held BTC for more than 155 days made 3.27 million BTC in profits this cycle, a record only surpassed by the peak in 2017. However, despite the selling, metrics such as the Adjusted MVRV ratio stayed balanced, signaling that long-term confidence hadn’t faded.
Meanwhile, gold’s market value recently reached $29 trillion, climbing 56% over the past year, and offering itself up as a more attractive alternative for investors as opposed to its digital counterpart. Still, with the precious metal’s RSI hitting 91.8, analysts like Crypto Rover say it looks “overbought,” meaning there could soon be a shift of funds back toward Bitcoin.
At the same time, institutional selling has also shaped recent market behavior. Reports in late July revealed that major firms such as Galaxy Digital sold large BTC holdings as prices neared $120,000, a move analysts viewed as strategic profit-taking rather than a structural exit.
The Case for Lasting Strength
For Rochard and others, these patterns are part of a normal cooling phase after a major rally. Trader Daniel Tschinkel summed it up: “Liquidity has shifted temporarily, but none of that changes Bitcoin’s structural strength.”
With its fixed supply, rising institutional presence through ETFs, and growing utility as a neutral settlement layer, the experts believe the asset’s long-term case remains as strong as ever.
Looking at the market, the flagship cryptocurrency has traded between $108,201 and $113,567 in the last 24 hours, dipping 2.6% in that time but gaining 1.2% over the week. Across the last month, it’s down slightly by 3.4%, though it remains ahead of the broader crypto market, which rose 0.9% this week.