Bitcoin Falls Out of Bull Market Channel After Two-Year Run
Bitcoin (BTC) is showing signs of structural weakness after breaking below a long-standing bull market channel, raising fresh concerns about whether the world’s largest cryptocurrency can regain momentum as 2025 approaches its final stretch.
After respecting the bullish structure for nearly two years, BTC has now spent six consecutive weeks trading below the channel. During that time, the asset made three separate attempts to reclaim the trend, only to face firm rejections at what has now become a key resistance zone along the former lower boundary.
BTC Struggles Near Key Resistance
Currently, Bitcoin is consolidating just beneath this resistance level, hinting at the possibility of a fourth attempt to re-enter the channel. According to Titan of Crypto, a widely followed analyst on X, the market’s next reaction will be critical in determining whether this move represents a brief deviation, a technical retest from below, or the start of a more prolonged downturn.
Another analyst, Crypto Tice, has drawn comparisons between Bitcoin’s 2025 price action and the market top seen in 2021. In both periods, BTC formed a rounded top, followed by a sharp decline, a temporary rebound, and then sustained downside pressure.
“This bounce isn’t strength by default,” the analyst noted, suggesting that such moves often mark periods where market positioning changes hands. While a push toward the $100,000–$105,000 range remains possible, he emphasized that this zone could act as a sentiment turning point, much like in the previous cycle.
Analysts Split as Bearish Signals Emerge
Looking ahead, Trader Tardigrade has identified a potential bearish pennant pattern on the weekly chart, which could point to a move toward $60,000 if confirmed. Such a scenario would extend the broader bear market that began in September.
Meanwhile, VanEck reported a roughly 4% decline in Bitcoin’s network hashrate as of mid-December. Historically, similar drops have occurred near market bottoms, leading some observers to view the signal as contrarian, though its reliability remains uncertain.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading around $87,100, down 2% over the past 24 hours but up 2% on the week. Notably, Q4 2025 is on track to close with a 22% decline, marking Bitcoin’s weakest fourth quarter since the 2018 market cycle.
