Bitcoin Consolidates Above $90K as New-Year Rebalancing Calms Crypto Markets

Crypto markets are opening the year in consolidation mode rather than retreat, with bitcoin holding above $90,000 and ether regaining relative strength as institutional positions reset.

In early Asian trading on Wednesday, bitcoin edged lower on short time frames but stayed range-bound after breaking through the psychologically important $90,000 level.

“With equities, gold and other precious metals at record highs, the market is caught between prices adjusting higher to stay aligned with other assets and the risk of a pullback to respect the four-year cycle,” said George Mandres, a crypto analyst at XBTO. He warned that downside narratives “can quickly become self-fulfilling.”

Neither dynamic has dominated so far. Instead of a sharp correction, bitcoin has moved sideways, suggesting consolidation rather than distribution. Mandres said the start of a new year marks a key shift from late 2025.

“Beyond the move above $90,000, what’s changed is that P&Ls have reset and investors are redeploying capital into attractive risk-reward opportunities,” he said.

Ether shows a slightly different setup. While ETH has outperformed bitcoin over weekly and monthly periods, futures data points to cooling positioning.

Bradley Park, founder of DNTV Research, said CME ether futures open interest offers useful insight beyond spot prices. Rising open interest has increasingly reflected institutional activity through ETF arbitrage and DAT-style trades, while declines typically signal unwinds.

“That unwind now looks largely complete,” Park said, adding that the recent pullback resembles a loss of momentum rather than a structural break, with positioning back near July 2025 levels. Importantly, the reset has not triggered heavy spot selling.

Glassnode data echoes this theme across crypto markets. Options traders have de-risked aggressively, with open interest contracting and volatility expectations rising, while U.S. spot bitcoin ETF flows have turned back to net inflows. This points to renewed institutional demand alongside greater sensitivity to near-term profit-taking.

Overall, the signals suggest consolidation and rotation rather than a broad risk-off move. Bitcoin continues to absorb competing macro narratives without breaking trend, while ethereum appears less crowded and better positioned if institutional flows pick up again.

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Market Movement

• BTC: Trading sideways above $90,000, reflecting consolidation after recent gains as macro support and cycle concerns balance out.
• ETH: Near $3,247, slightly lower intraday but firmly higher on weekly and monthly views despite cooling futures positioning.
• Gold: After a nearly 65% rally in 2025, banks expect gold to hit fresh records in 2026 on falling rates, central-bank buying and geopolitical risk.
• Nikkei 225: Japan’s Nikkei slipped 0.45% Wednesday as Asia-Pacific markets were mixed, while Australia’s ASX 200 rose 0.38% after softer inflation data.

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