Bitcoin’s price, currently hovering around $97,150 as of 12:38 pm UTC, is down more than 10% from its December 17 all-time high of $108,300, according to BNC data. This drop comes amid a broader correction in the crypto market, where Bitcoin’s daily charts have produced consecutive red candles for the first time since early November.

Source: BNC Bitcoin Liquid Index

The downturn has also dragged Bitcoin’s social sentiment to its lowest levels of the year, with a ratio of four to five positive versus negative comments on Bitcoin-related topics across social platforms. This metric, often a contrarian indicator, suggests that the current wave of fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) among retail investors could pave the way for a market reversal.

Market intelligence platform Santiment highlighted this trend in a Dec. 22 post on X writing “Crypto’s further flush has sent Bitcoin’s crowd sentiment down to its most negative statistical point of the year. Vocal traders are now showing severe FUD, and that’s good news for contrarians who know markets move the opposite direction of retail’s expectations..”

Source: X

Trader and analyst Rekt Capital wrote that “Bitcoin is threatening to lose each of these supports. These supports need to hold if BTC is to avoid a transition into a correction. Weekly Close below would be bearish.

Source: X

In another post he wrote, ““In 2017, Week 7 as well as Weeks 8 and 9 were also corrective. In 2021, Week 6 and Week 8 were corrective. Bitcoin is currently in Week 7 and slowly transitioning into Week 8.”

Despite a challenging few weeks, Bitcoin remains poised for a potential breakout. The alignment of bearish social sentiment, historical correction patterns, and emerging fractal signals suggests that the current downtrend might soon give way to a recovery. For investors willing to weather the storm, the long-term outlook for Bitcoin continues to flash bullish signs, with the potential to surpass $100,000 and beyond in the months ahead.