In last week’s Trendline, I highlighted the $87,500 area as the next important test for Bitcoin. Since then, price has moved into that resistance zone, reached a high near $87,000 and then pulled back sharply. A wick took price towards $80,500 before Bitcoin recovered to around $83,500.
The rebound has brought Bitcoin back to an important area, but it has not yet restored the momentum seen during the advance from the lows. The market is now testing whether buyers can defend the current support zone and make another attempt at resistance.
The broader structure has improved considerably from the lows near $57,000. Bitcoin has recovered from that area, formed a sequence of higher highs and higher lows, and moved above the descending trendline that had defined much of the correction.
That was the context behind last week’s focus on resistance around 87,500–88,000. The question was whether the improving structure could develop into a sustained move above that level.
Bitcoin reached the area, but the market did not establish itself above it. The subsequent pullback shows that sellers were still active around resistance. At the same time, the wick towards $80,500 was followed by a recovery, suggesting that buyers responded as price moved lower.
That leaves a mixed short-term picture: the broader recovery remains visible, but the resistance test has not yet produced confirmation of a larger breakout.
Graf: TradingView
The area around $83,500 is now an important reference point on the chart. Bitcoin has returned to this level after the sharp pullback, but price is still struggling to build clear momentum.
Below it, the chart marks another support area near $82,300. The recent wick towards $80,500 is also important: it is the low from which the latest recovery began. How Bitcoin behaves around these areas may help show whether buyers are still defending the structure or whether the pullback is developing into something more significant.
A hold above the current zone, followed by a move back towards $86,600 and the broader 86,750–87,500 resistance area, would improve the short-term picture. It would show that buyers are making another attempt to reclaim the region where the last advance stalled.
But a move back towards resistance would still be a test. The market would need to establish itself above that area before the breakout could be treated as more convincing.
If Bitcoin loses the current support areas and goes on to form a new lower low below the recent wick, the short-term structure would weaken. That would shift attention towards lower support areas identified in the previous analysis, including approximately $76,800 and $75,500.
Those levels are areas to monitor if the market continues lower; they do not determine how far price must fall or when it might reach them. The important distinction is whether Bitcoin can hold the recent low and resume forming higher lows, or whether sellers push price below it.
For now, the recovery from $80,500 keeps both possibilities open. The next move around support should provide more information than the wick alone.
The first area I am watching is whether Bitcoin can hold around $83,500 and above the support near $82,300. A sustained recovery from this zone would keep the possibility of another test of resistance in play.
The next test is the region between roughly $86,600 and $87,500. A convincing reclaim would be a constructive development; another rejection would leave Bitcoin below the level that has so far capped the advance.
Graf: TradingView
I am also watching the recent low near $80,500. A new lower low would change the near-term structure and bring the lower support zones back into focus.
The broader market calendar may add volatility this week. Investors are watching Wednesday’s US inflation reading, with the dollar and geopolitical uncertainty also in focus.
Bitcoin’s recovery from the $57,000 region has changed the broader chart structure. The market has made higher highs and higher lows, and price has moved above the descending trendline that defined much of the correction.
The latest move shows that an improving structure does not remove the possibility of rejection. Bitcoin tested the $87,500 area, pulled back towards $80,500 and has returned to around $83,500. The recovery now needs to hold support and make another attempt at the resistance zone.
Until that happens, both outcomes remain relevant: a renewed move higher if buyers regain momentum, or a weaker structure if Bitcoin breaks below its recent low. As always, the focus is on how price behaves when it reaches these levels and on updating the analysis as the market develops.
Venkat Hrushikesa Varri has followed the crypto and financial markets for several years, with a particular interest in technical analysis and market development. He is part of the Kaupr team, covering Norwegian and international crypto conferences and contributing live coverage and content from the industry. His interest in market analysis has also grown into a separate project: an analysis platform for the crypto market, now approaching launch, which aims to make market analysis and data-driven insights more accessible to crypto investors. Through Trendline, Venkat shares his own observations and analyses of the market, focusing on trends, market structure and the technical levels that may matter going forward.
Trendline is Kaupr's weekly technical analysis of Bitcoin and the crypto market, published every Monday. Each edition follows the market structure from week to week: which levels matter now, what has changed since the last edition, and what would need to happen for the broader picture to change.
Trendline is analysis, not investment advice, and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any asset. The views are the author's own.