Crypto Market Enters Holding Pattern and Fatigue Grows, But Will the Bull Stay?

The world’s first and most popular cryptocurrency, Bitcoin (BTC), has remained range-bound recently. This comes as crypto market profit-taking slows, spot volume fades, activity metrics cool, and futures sentiment turns cautious, according to the latest report by blockchain data and intelligence platform Glassnode. Without a notable influx of new demand, upside momentum will remain limited.

BTC has been trading in a $100,000–$110,000 range, where it has been consolidating since 8 May. Macro elements and sharp reversals are driving price action.

Currently, the $99,000 support level holds. We’ve seen this last weekend when the geopolitical tensions pushed the prices down. That said, the coin swiftly recovered to $106,000 with the news of de-escalation in the Middle East.

That said, trading within this range reflects “continued uncertainty amid headline-driven volatility,” the report notes.

#Bitcoin remains range-bound between $100k–$110k. Profit-taking cools, volume fades, and futures show signs of caution. What would it take for $BTC to break out from this trend? Read more in the latest Week On-Chain: https://t.co/boL6GT7NfS pic.twitter.com/bHEYwb3iv1

Moreover, Glassnode writes that there are growing signs of market fatigue, as well as a cooling pattern across key activity metrics.

First, there is profit realization. During the 2020–2022 market, BTC investors realized $550 billion in profit across several rallies. But realized profit has already reached $650 billion in the current cycle.

Following the third significant wave of profit-taking, the market seems to be cooling down. This suggests that “while large gains have been secured, momentum is now easing as realized profitability tapers off.”

Next is the onchain transfer volume. The 7-day moving average has dropped some 32%. It fell from a high of $76 billion in late May to $52 billion last weekend.

Additionally, unlike the ATH rallies in Q2 and Q4 2024, the latest ATH did not see a surge in spot volume. The current amount of $7.7 billion is significantly lower than the cyclical peaks from earlier in this bull market. This highlights a lack of speculative intensity, crypto market hesitancy, and the consolidation narrative.

The analysts conclude that “profit realization is cooling, on-chain activity is declining, and spot volume failed to rise meaningfully during the recent ATH push. While futures participation remains active, falling funding rates and futures rolling basis signal a cautious stance among speculators.”

Looking at the cost basis distribution (CBD) heatmap, Glassnode found that Bitcoin’s weekend drop to $99,000 found support near the upper edge of a dense supply zone between $93,000 and $100,000.

This is notable as this zone has been “a key area of activity since the top formation in Q1 2025, marking it as a structurally important level,” analysts argue.

Therefore, they write, as long as the price holds above this particular range, “the bull market structure remains intact.” However, a drop below it could trigger a deeper correction. This will especially be the case if holders with a cost basis in this zone begin to capitulate and add to the sell pressure, the report states.

That said, analysts note that despite BTC reclaiming the $100,000–$110,000 range, there are visible signs of diminishing profitability and sluggish on-chain activity. They argue that these trends are “typical in choppy consolidation phases, where volatility fades and investor engagement cools.”

The report concludes that “until we see a pickup in profitability and activity metrics, the likelihood of a breakout to new all-time highs remains limited. For now, the market appears to be digesting prior gains, awaiting fresh momentum and an influx of new demand.”

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