Bitcoin Reclaims $97K As Long-Term Holders Supply Stays Locked
Bitcoin has pushed above the $97,000 degree, extending a restoration that has introduced short-term reduction to a market weighed down by weeks of uncertainty. While the transfer has reignited optimism amongst some traders, a big share of analysts stays cautious, arguing that the rally may nonetheless be a counter-trend bounce inside a broader bearish setup for 2026.
Price power alone, nonetheless, doesn’t absolutely clarify the present transfer. According to a CryptoQuant analyst, Bitcoin has proven notable resilience after decisively breaking the $94,200 resistance zone and accelerating towards the $97,500 space, with on-chain knowledge providing vital context behind the advance.
One of the important thing indicators supporting this transfer is Value Days Destroyed (VDD), a metric that sheds mild on long-term holder habits. VDD measures how lengthy cash remained inactive earlier than being spent, weighted by transaction measurement. In easy phrases, it helps distinguish whether or not value actions are pushed by skilled holders distributing previous cash or by newer cash altering palms.
As of January 2026, VDD is hovering round 0.53, a traditionally low studying. This implies that the cash at the moment shifting on the community are comparatively younger, whereas older holdings stay largely dormant. Such habits means that long-term holders are usually not speeding to promote into strength, lending structural assist to the current breakout—even because the broader market debates whether or not this surge marks renewed power or merely a short lived reprieve.
Long-Term Holders Reinforce Bitcoin’s Breakout Quality
The report by Carmelo Alemán, Verified On-Chain Analyst at CryptoQuant, highlights an vital dynamic behind Bitcoin’s current transfer above key resistance ranges. Despite the sharp value appreciation, long-term holders stay largely inactive. In sensible phrases, because of this traders who’ve held Bitcoin by way of a number of cycles are usually not utilizing the present power as a possibility to exit positions. Their restraint considerably improves the standard of the rally.
Historically, this habits has mattered. When Bitcoin advances whereas Value Days Destroyed (VDD) stays low, it alerts that older cash are usually not coming into circulation. Demand is being met primarily by youthful provide, permitting value to rise with out triggering structural promoting strain from essentially the most skilled market individuals. These phases have typically aligned with more healthy enlargement intervals quite than short-lived speculative spikes.
The present breakout suits that historic sample. Bitcoin’s transfer by way of resistance has not been accompanied by a surge in long-dormant cash being spent. Instead, long-term capital seems comfy holding by way of greater costs, suggesting confidence within the broader market construction quite than urgency to lock in features.
This supportive backdrop stays conditional. As lengthy as VDD stays suppressed, the rally retains a powerful basis. However, a sustained improve within the indicator would change the narrative, signaling that long-term holders are starting to distribute and probably marking a shift towards heavier promoting strain.
Price Tests Key Resistance After December Rebound
Bitcoin value is attempting to stabilize after a pointy rebound from the December lows, with the chart exhibiting BTC reclaiming the $96,000–$97,000 zone. This degree coincides with a confluence of technical elements, making it a crucial space for short-term course. The current restoration adopted a powerful sell-off from the November highs. Where the value broke beneath the 50-day and 100-day shifting averages and briefly capitulated towards the low $80,000s.
From a construction perspective, BTC is now printing greater lows on the every day timeframe, signaling a possible short-term pattern reversal. Price has additionally reclaimed the 50-day shifting common, which regularly acts as dynamic resistance throughout downtrends. Holding above this degree can be constructive, because it suggests patrons are regaining management after weeks of distribution and volatility.
However, overhead resistance stays vital. The 100-day and 200-day shifting averages, at the moment clustered between $100,000 and $108,000, characterize a heavy provide zone the place earlier breakdowns occurred. A failure to push greater may result in renewed consolidation or a pullback towards the $92,000–$94,000 assist vary.
Volume has elevated throughout the rebound, exhibiting real participation quite than a low-liquidity bounce. Still, the broader pattern stays unclear. For bullish momentum, Bitcoin wants acceptance above $97,000 and a transparent try towards the $100,000 psychological degree. Otherwise, the transfer dangers being a technical rebound inside a bigger corrective part.
Featured picture from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com
