Bitcoin’s Most Recent Moves Are Happening Without Retail Participation

[Ben Graham]

The recent price movements of Bitcoin are unfolding in a notably quiet environment and are largely absent from retail participation. Unlike past rallies that were fueled by viral speculation and surging search interest, the current advance appears to be driven by a different class of buyers.

How Retail Activity Remains Muted Despite Price Movement

Bitcoin is not being driven by retail emotion. An analyst known as the Master of Crypto highlighted on X that after President Donald Trump’s latest news hit the headlines, the market stayed flat for more than a day, despite BTC trading nonstop. The real move only began when Asian institutional flows entered the market, and gold followed the same pattern.

This suggests that most breaking news explanations are written after the price has already been decided. The most concerning is that retail traders continue to pile into leverage even with clear warnings. Meanwhile, this was the third tariff-related headline from Trump, and BTC has reacted negatively to every single one.

Any company that is capitalized entirely in a single fiat currency is exposed to catastrophic loss if that currency fails. Ben Werkman has pointed out that history shows that this risk repeatedly occurred with outright collapse, just like the Iranian rial, Argentine peso, Venezuelan bolívar, Zimbabwe dollar, and Lebanese pound, which have experienced severe breakdowns in purchasing power. Meanwhile, currencies like the Turkish lira and Sri Lankan rupee have undergone major devaluation cycles.

When a monetary regime breaks, unhedged corporate balance sheets tend to break with it. Werkman argues that Bitcoin introduces an unprecedented hedge in this context. As a non-sovereign, globally liquid asset, BTC cannot be devalued overnight by a single policy decision or local political crisis. Companies may want to accumulate some BTC on their balance sheet, just in case these real-world events continue to happen.

Key Levels That Will Define the Next Expansion Phase

According to Creptosolutions, Bitcoin is now centered around the key zone of $90,000 and $92,000, an area that previously acted as strong support, after topping near $126,000. If the bullish market structure remains valid, this level must continue to hold.

The price action here is not random. After a major rally, BTC is now compressing, suggesting that the market is building energy for the next direction. As long as the price remains above $90,000, buyers retain structural control, and another move up remains possible. If BTC sustained a break back above $103,000, it would continue surging higher.

On the downside, a weekly close below $90,000 would turn the momentum negative, with a deeper drop toward the $85,000 to $80,000 zone. Currently, BTC is still moving in a narrow range and has not yet chosen a direction. This kind of behaviour usually leads to a strong move. The weekly close is more important than short-term price swings. How price behaves around the $90,000 level will provide the clearest signal of the next major move.