Bitcoin holds firm above $90,000

Written by Samer Hasn, Senior Market Analyst at XS.com

Bitcoin is holding steady above $90,000 after two consecutive sessions of gains that lifted it away from last week’s lows.

Bitcoin’s latest rebound is being powered by the broader recovery across global equities, particularly in technology stocks. Rising enthusiasm and cooling fears around an AI bubble, has helped risk assets find firmer footing.

The easing pace of long liquidations since early October has also allowed bitcoin to stabilize more smoothly. Still, whale selling remains active enough to keep upside momentum fragile, preventing the recovery from turning into a trend.

Whale activity remains a mixed and potentially destabilizing force. According to data from BGeometrics, humpback wallets holding more than 10,000 BTC have remained stable at 91 addresses, consistent with yesterday’s reading.

Their annual decline of six addresses, or -6.186 percent, suggests long-term holders are maintaining their posture without committing fresh capital. In contrast, the whale cohort holding 1,000 to 10,000 BTC continues to shrink. Their count fell from 1962 to 1925 in a day, reaching the lowest level since 2024.

The reduction totals 57 addresses over the past week and 64 over three months, amounting to a yearly contraction of -3.266 percent. This steady migration indicates that medium- to large-scale holders are trimming exposure or redistributing holdings, a dynamic that complicates any sustained upside effort.

While derivatives positioning shows the first signs of stabilization. CoinGlass data indicates that liquidation waves this week have been modest compared with the October 10 shock aftermath, allowing the market to rebuild some structure. Futures open interest climbed by about 10 billion dollars from the Sunday trough of 122 billion dollars, though the figure remains far below the 233 billion dollar record. The rebound is encouraging, yet still too shallow to signal the return of aggressive leverage.

The spot market offers a similar message. On-balance volume has turned slightly higher, pointing to cooling distribution rather than real accumulation. Buyers appear selective, stepping in only as forced selling eases. This behaviour anchors bitcoin’s resilience but does not yet mark the beginning of a durable demand cycle.

Equity markets have been a key tailwind during this recovery phase. According to The Wall Street Journal, U.S. stocks notched a fourth straight session of gains as of Wednesday as investors regained confidence in rate-cut expectations and renewed their appetite for AI-linked names. The Nasdaq is on pace for its strongest Thanksgiving week since 2008, helped by a broad improvement in sentiment.

The resurgence of policy optimism remains a central pillar behind the improving mood. CME FedWatch Tool data shows traders now assign more than an 84 percent probability to a December rate cut, a sharp shift from below 50 percent barely a week ago.

Bitcoin’s resilience this week is therefore being shaped by a supportive macro environment rather than internal strength. The rebound in global tech, the cooling liquidation pace, and the shifting rate expectations have offered the cryptocurrency room to stabilize. Yet the mixed whale distribution pattern and the lack of sustained accumulation still underline that the market remains vulnerable. The next phase will likely depend on whether improving sentiment in equities can translate into more durable inflows across the crypto market.