Bitcoin appears near a local bottom: MARA's reported sale of 996 BTC is another contrarian bottom indicator. x.comÂ
James Van Straten
Senior Analyst at CoinDesk, Coinsilium Advisory Board Member
The current crypto-market shock was needed to form a bottom. Bitcoin will not fall below $60,000 again. x.comÂ
Bitcoin has already bottomed, as the four-year cycle proved correct again. It peaked on schedule and bottomed within a few months of the usual calendar. The signal came once capitulation signals fired and bitcoin rallied on good news with high volume, the US Treasury news. x.com x.comÂ
Bitcoin still needs demand and short open interest before a bottom can be expected. Price reversed after taking liquidity at $84.6K; the nearest liquidity below is $79.6K, while $87K remains the strongest zone above and $90K is now the next target. Patience is warranted until that demand and short interest arrive; no bottom is expected yet. x.comÂ
Bitcoin's past midterm-election selloffs each marked a cycle bottom, making Tuesday's election fear a buying opportunity at $78K-$75K. The declines were about 50% in both 2014 and 2018, then 25% in 2022; this time a drop of more than 10% looks unlikely as the drawdowns have moderated. x.com x.comÂ
Bitcoin's bottom is confirmed as collapsing bond and fiat markets trigger a second event on its macro inverse head-and-shoulders pattern. Many more moves and surges are on the way. x.com x.comÂ
Bitcoin does not look like it has bottomed yet, because about 90% of its trading is driven by perpetual futures rather than spot. Whether spot volume returns is the thing to monitor; chasing here without a clear sign would be the worst move. x.comÂ
MARA is finally selling its bitcoin reserves, which is the right move, but still needs to leave bitcoin mining, a failing business model. Per Lookonchain, MARA sold 23,093 BTC in the first half of 2026 and still holds 35,577. With the hashprice index at all-time lows, this is one of the most inefficient periods to mine in history. Using sale proceeds to pivot to AI/HPC could make MARA a really good opportunity in the coming weeks and months, if management has finally woken up. x.comÂ
Bitcoin's bull run looks close because bearish comments on the timeline are the contrarian signal that has always appeared just before one. People call the current move a fakeout; buy when others are bearish and sell when they become overly bullish. x.comÂ
Bitcoin's valuation looks stretched relative to network use, raising the risk of selling pressure. Its market value has risen faster than active addresses, lifting the NVM ratio while address activity has not kept up with price. This is a valuation warning, not a definite top like 2021 or 2025, nor a signal that price must fall immediately; it could keep rising with NVM high. x.comÂ
Bitcoin's 64% supply-in-profit reading makes $80,000 or below worth watching during the bear-to-bull transition. At the October 25 close of $80,086, it matched the 64% reading at $75,000 on September 15. Historically, below 65% marks a reasonable correction in this phase, and lower prices offer better value. A 55%-60% reading would be best, but it may never arrive. The low of this pullback from $87,000 is unknown. x.comÂ