Bitcoin's Struggle: What's Holding It Back?

Bitcoin has been having a tough time staying above $110, 000. It's like the market is being extra careful right now. Last week, Bitcoin took a big tumble from $115, 000 to $104, 000. This drop shook up a lot of investors, but it also cleared out some of the weaker ones. Now, Bitcoin has bounced back a bit to around $111, 000. But the market is still pretty shaky. The RSI, which measures momentum, is starting to recover from oversold levels. However, the cumulative volume delta is still negative, meaning more people are selling than buying. Spot trading volumes are also low, which shows that people aren't really convinced about the current prices. In the futures and options markets, people are reducing their risk. Open interest has fallen, funding rates have eased, and more people are looking for protection against further drops. Short-term holders are also increasing their supply, which means there's a lot of speculative money in the market. Long-term Bitcoin holders have been selling steadily since July. This has added a lot of pressure on the market. Since October 15th, long-term holders have sold about 28, 000 BTC. Daily outflows have also increased from 12, 500 BTC in early July to 22, 500 BTC on average over the last 30 days. This trend started in late August and shows that long-term holders are taking profits, which is a sign of a late-cycle distribution phase. All these factors suggest that Bitcoin's upside is limited for now. The market structure is still fragile, and caution is dominating over conviction. Until long-term holders stop selling and confidence returns, it's likely that Bitcoin will struggle to make significant gains.