What happened recently
Bitcoin (BTC) showed a small recovery on Monday during Asian trading hours. It rose by almost 2 percent after it briefly dropped below $70,000 over the weekend. Some investors hoped the price would climb more, but many experts think trouble is not finished yet.
Two well-known market watchers shared their views. One of them, who goes by the name Doctor Profit, says Bitcoin is not turning into a real uptrend. He thinks the price will stay stuck in a long, flat phase that could lead to a bigger drop later.
What does a sideways market mean?
In simple words, a sideways market means prices move up and down within a wide range without a clear up or down trend. Doctor Profit says Bitcoin is forming what he calls a trading box between about $57,000 and $87,000. That is a big range—about 33% from bottom to top.
The idea is that price action will mostly bounce between these two numbers for weeks or even months. He does not see this as real strength. Instead, he sees it as a kind of waiting period that often comes before prices fall in a bear market.
To help explain, he compares this to a time in 2024 when Bitcoin spent a full year moving between $58,000 and $74,000. After that, it jumped above $100,000. He warned then that the $58,000-$74,000 area would later be used as a reference point in the next bear market. A bear market is a period when prices go down for a long time.
Now, the same price zone is forming again. But this time, the context is bearish. This means the old area that traders once used for support is not as strong as it seems. Doctor Profit believes that once the current sideways phase ends, the price could break down below the box and fall toward $44,000-$50,000 in the weeks or months ahead.
What is he buying and why?
Doctor Profit says he is buying spot Bitcoin in the range of $57,000-$60,000. He calls this the local bottom of the current range. But he does not think it is the bottom of the whole bear market. He expects this range to be tested many times during the sideways phase. Those repeated tests can create opportunities for traders who like to trade within a range, where prices bounce between support and resistance levels.
He also notes that if the price moves up toward $87,000, that level is not guaranteed to be reached. It is simply the upper boundary of what he expects during the consolidation. If price nears that level, he would consider adding to his existing short positions. A short position is a bet that the price will fall. He opened these shorts between $115,000 and $125,000 and says he still holds them.
In this view, there is not an immediate big drop right away. The market could stay range-bound for a while, making big new moves less likely in the near term. Doctor Profit calls the coming period “long and boring.” He also says the most aggressive buying for the long term would happen much lower, around the low $50,000s to the low $40,000s. He thinks Bitcoin could bottom in that lower area, possibly around September or October.
His basic message is simple: we are in a bear market. Bounces happen, but they are temporary. They can be changes in liquidity—the money available to buy and sell—rather than real signs of lasting strength. He says these bounces are meant to help traders prepare for more downside.
In short, Doctor Profit sees a slow market that could go lower, with a few opportunities to buy in the middle of the current range. He expects the strongest bottom to come later, at much lower price levels.
Another view: a warning for bulls
A second analyst who uses the name Filbfilb shared his ideas on the platform X. He posted a Bitcoin chart and compared today’s market to the 2022 bear market. His message for people who want prices to rise (the bulls) is not very hopeful.
Filbfilb notes that Bitcoin is trading below a key trend line called the 50-week exponential moving average. This line, the explanation goes, is currently near $95,300. A moving average is a way to smooth out price data to see the overall trend. The exponential moving average (EMA) gives more weight to recent prices, which can make it react faster to new moves.
In his view, dropping below this moving average is a warning sign. When prices break under this line, they look more like a bear market than a recovering market. That means more selling pressure could come, and prices might fall further.
Filbfilb’s chart suggests more downside if Bitcoin stays under that important line. He does not expect a quick return to strong prices in the near term.
Another warning from the market watcher BitBull
A third analyst, BitBull, echoed similar ideas. He argues that the final capitulation has not happened yet. In finance, capitulation means a moment when many investors give up and sell all at once, often after a big drop. BitBull says the real bottom could come below $50,000. He also notes that many buyers who invest through exchange-traded funds (ETFs) could be underwater if prices stay low. An ETF is a fund traded on stock exchanges that tries to copy the performance of an index or asset. In simple terms, it makes it easier for many people to invest in Bitcoin through regular stock trading channels.
What this could mean for investors and traders
Right now, the price of Bitcoin is not showing clear signs of a strong up move. The market appears to be in a long, slow period where prices move within a broad range. Some traders use this time to buy small amounts of Bitcoin in the lower part of the range and sell when prices rise toward the top of the range. This is called range trading and can work in a sideways market when the price comes back to familiar levels again and again.
Others focus on bigger moves and keep a close eye on important price thresholds. A break below the box of $57,000-$87,000 could push prices down toward the $44,000-$50,000 area in the following weeks or months. That would be a sign of further weakness in the current bear market.
On the upside, if prices manage to move higher within the box, traders could see Bitcoin rise toward $87,000. But this is not guaranteed. Prices may fail to reach that level, and the market could turn around in favor of the bears again. In such a case, some investors might add to their short positions at higher prices in anticipation of a new decline.
Analysts emphasize that this is a difficult time to predict. The crypto market can be very volatile. News events, regulatory changes, and big moves by large investors can all cause prices to change quickly. People who want to invest should be careful and think about how much risk they can handle. It is common to spread risk by using small, regular purchases over time rather than trying to buy or sell all at once.
Why some experts think the security and timing matter
Experts who study price cycles say that after a big fall, markets often go through phases. Before a strong up move, prices may bounce a few times. Then, if the overall trend remains down, prices can fall again to new lows. This is part of how bears and bulls interact in a market that has more sellers than buyers at certain times.
When a price moves in a narrow band for a long time, new information can push it higher or lower suddenly. Traders watch for changes in money flow, or liquidity, which is how easily people can buy or sell Bitcoin without changing its price too much. If liquidity dries up, prices can fall quickly. If more money comes in, prices can rise faster. Doctor Profit often mentions this idea when talking about why he thinks the market could drop after a long sideways period.
What does this mean with the current events in the crypto world?
These discussions come just after Bitcoin’s latest movement. The price has touched high levels near $70,000 and then dipped. Analysts say the market could move in many ways in the next weeks or months. The $50,000 to $60,000 area is seen by some as a likely place where serious buyers could return if prices fall much further. Others expect a deeper drop to around $40,000 or $44,000 if selling pressure grows stronger.
Overall, the mood among these analysts is cautious. Some see the rally as a relief rally that fades quickly. They warn that the market could head down again. Others say there could still be chances to buy at lower prices if a drop happens. In any case, it is important for investors to know that this is not a guarantee. The market can change quickly, and everyone should be prepared for different possibilities.
For now, observers say there is no immediate big move up or down. The market could stay inside the current range for some time. The next big moves might depend on new information, big trades, and how much money flows into or out of Bitcoin and related products.
Definitions used in this article
- Bitcoin — Bitcoin is the first decentralized cryptocurrency, created in 2009 and implemented as open-source software. It operates on a peer-to-peer network and uses a public distributed ledger (the blockchain) to record transactions secured by cryptography.
- Bear market — A bear market is a market trend characterized by downward price movement, where prices fall over time; it is the opposite of a bull market.
- Exponential moving average — An exponential moving average (EMA) is a type of moving average that gives more weight to recent prices, used to smooth price data and identify price trends.
- Exchange-traded fund — An exchange-traded fund (ETF) is an investment fund traded on stock exchanges, which holds assets such as stocks, bonds, commodities, or other securities and aims to track an index.
- Liquidity — Liquidity refers to how easily an asset can be bought or sold in the market without significantly affecting its price; it includes concepts like market liquidity and funding liquidity.
Source: CryptoPotato reports on Bitcoin’s sideways phase and analyst opinions. The article: Bitcoin’s (BTC) Sideways Phase Is a Trap Before a Deeper Crash (Analyst).