Why bitcoin is range-bound below $87,500

Potential upside in the leading cryptocurrency is being capped by price manipulation by one or more large players, conclude the authors at Material Indicators.

If you are wondering why Bitcoin price hasn’t been able to rally past $87.5k yet, the reason is price suppression from Spoofy the Whale. pic.twitter.com/hxvgaWINtN

— Material Indicators (@MI_Algos) March 20, 2025

“If you are wondering why the price of bitcoin still has not been able to rise above $87,500, the reason is suppression by a spoofing whale,” they wrote.

This form of price manipulation involves placing large limit buy or sell orders that the perpetrator does not intend to execute. The orders are cancelled once the desired price move is achieved.

In discussion, Material Indicators’ experts agreed that the multi-month support at $76,000 was not strong enough to spark a firm rebound. In addition, the momentum from the latest meeting Fed is insufficient to fuel a strong advance.

The trader known as Daan Crypto Trades says bitcoin is consolidating, and that bulls need to defend the $84,000–$85,000 area to keep momentum intact.

$BTC Took out the local liquidity above and has now been consolidating.

The bulls would want to hold on to the $84K-$85K region to keep the momentum.

Otherwise you’re at risk of visiting those lower liquidity clusters which then can end up in a full retrace as price is still… https://t.co/qKHJqvLc2u pic.twitter.com/7VGxrUJngh

— Daan Crypto Trades (@DaanCrypto) March 20, 2025

“Otherwise you are at risk of visiting those lower-liquidity clusters, which can then end in a full retrace, as the price is still unstable,” he warned.

CryptoQuant specialists noted that the Bitcoin Bull Score has fallen to a two-year low of 20. Historically, strong rallies have occurred only when the metric is above 60.

Bitcoin Bull Score is at a two-year low of 20.

Bitcoin’s down 23% from its peak, and history shows strong rallies only happen when the score is above 60.

Extended low scores often come with bear markets. pic.twitter.com/3OK5g9gibN

— CryptoQuant.com (@cryptoquant_com) March 20, 2025

“Extended periods of low readings most often accompany bear markets,” they noted.

The firm’s founder and CEO Ki Young Ju has already stated that bitcoin’s bull phase is over. He suggested prices will fall or drift sideways over the next six to 12 months.

The YouTube blogger known as Crypto Rover argues that bitcoin has finished consolidating ahead of further gains. But he says the market is in a phase of manipulation that investors should not fall for.

Bitcoin is manipulating you.

Don’t get trapped now. pic.twitter.com/HUkhTxpFv9

— Crypto Rover (@rovercrc) March 21, 2025

Earlier, Matrixport suggested that bitcoin’s correction could last until March or April, after which an attempt to rally toward previous highs may follow. 

A number of Wall Street analysts also forecast a rise in price after March.

A potential pump signal spotted in Ethereum

Over the past two days, 360,000 ETH were withdrawn from exchanges, noted technical analyst Ali Martinez.

According to Santiment, the supply of Ethereum available on trading platforms has fallen to 8.97m ETH, the lowest since November 2015.  

? Thanks to the many DeFi and staking options, Ethereum’s holders have now brought the available supply on exchanges down to 8.97M, the lowest amount in nearly 10 years (November, 2015). There is 16.4% less $ETH on exchanges compared to just 7 weeks ago. ? pic.twitter.com/r5957wPhLi

— Santiment (@santimentfeed) March 20, 2025

The trader using the pseudonym Crypto General said whales are accumulating the asset “on the cheap” in cold wallets ahead of a move to $6,000.  

“It is only a matter of time before a major supply shock occurs,” he stressed.

An even higher target of $8,000–$10,000 was set by the investor known as NaBer. In his view, once the current “largest accumulation of ETH” ends, the cryptocurrency will reach those levels “instantly”.

However, Daan Crypto Trades offered a more downbeat view for Ethereum. He noted that the ETH/BTC pair is trading at levels not seen since late 2020.

$ETH Now trading at levels not seen since late 2020 relative to $BTC.

This has been one brutal downtrend and I think it’s going to be unlikely to see this anywhere near its highs anytime soon.

Yet, even a “small” bounce to one of these previous levels from 2-3 months ago could… pic.twitter.com/CI8V5Ju5Aw

— Daan Crypto Trades (@DaanCrypto) March 19, 2025

“This has been a brutal downtrend, and I think it is unlikely that it will ever approach its highs,” he stressed.

Any reversal, in any case, would be only local, the analyst believes.

$ETH / $BTC

Either Ethereum bounces here and this is a generational bottom, or it’s over. pic.twitter.com/PkftQRc4v7

— The Wolf Of All Streets (@scottmelker) March 19, 2025

“Either Ethereum rises here and this becomes a generational bottom, or it’s over,” podcaster Scott Melker commented on the ETH/BTC chart.

Standard Chartered analysts have revised their 2025 price forecast for the second-largest cryptocurrency, lowering it from $10,000 to $4,000.