Bitcoin's squeeze sets stage for major price swing
TL;DR
Bitcoin's price has been stable between $85,000-$90,000, causing a Bollinger Bands squeeze that historically precedes major price swings. Traders should prepare for potential rapid movement in either direction as volatility builds.
Key Takeaways
- •Bitcoin's Bollinger Bands have squeezed to their narrowest since July, indicating low volatility and potential for a significant price move soon.
- •Historical patterns show similar squeezes often lead to major price swings, with examples from July and February demonstrating this volatility expansion.
- •The current price stability between $85,000 and $90,000 represents market energy building for the next directional move.
- •Traders need increased vigilance as prices could move rapidly in either direction following the squeeze pattern.
What to know:
- Bitcoin's price has been stable between $85,000 and $90,000 for two weeks, leading to a Bollinger Bands squeeze.
- The Bollinger Bands squeeze suggests a potential for significant price movement soon.
- Historical patterns show that such squeezes often precede major price swings.
- Bitcoin's price has been stable between $85,000 and $90,000 for two weeks, leading to a Bollinger Bands squeeze.
- The Bollinger Bands squeeze suggests a potential for significant price movement soon.
- Historical patterns show that such squeezes often precede major price swings.
Bitcoin's BTC$88,996.57 price chart looks super calm via Bollinger Bands, a volatility gauge, hinting at a massive swing ahead.
BTC has traded in a tight range between $85,000 and $90,000 for the past two weeks. As a result, the gap between its Bollinger Bands, volatility bands placed two standard deviations above and below the 20-day simple moving average of the asset's price, has narrowed to less than $3,500, the lowest since July, according to data source TradingView.
This so-called Bollinger Bands squeeze indicates a low-volatility period in which the market is building energy for the next big move. History confirms massive price swings often follow these squeezes.
For instance, the last Bollinger Band squeeze in late July capped a two-week sideways grind between $115,000 and $120,000. The squeeze paved the way for a three-month expansion, with prices swinging wildly from $100,000 to $126,000.
A similar pattern unfolded in late February: a range between $94,000 and $98,000 tightened into Bollinger Band squeezes, followed by a slide to $80,000 by month-end.
Bollinger Bands have accurately signaled volatility explosions since at least 2018.
The latest squeeze, therefore, calls for trader vigilance as prices could soon move rapidly in either direction. The latest squeeze, therefore, calls for trader vigilance, as prices could soon move rapidly in either direction. As of writing, bitcoin traded around $88,600, up just over 1% on a 24-hour basis.
- KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
- This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
- Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
- Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
- Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
- U.S.-listed spot ETFs experienced their worst two-month stretch on record through November-December, with net outflows totaling $4.57 billion.
- Bitcoin's price dropped 20% during this period, reflecting a decline in institutional interest.
- Ether ETFs lost over $2 billion.
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