$BTC is a ticking clock. The breakout above $124,500 is the trigger for $130,000. Which way will it break? 🤔
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Bitcoin price defends $122K support amid headwinds, ZEC bucks altcoin downturn
Oct, 08, 2025
6 min read
by Rony Roy
for Invezz
Bitcoin price remained in a consolidation zone throughout the day after bouncing off weekly lows touched the previous day, as bearish pressure returned on the back of macro uncertainty.
The total crypto market cap also gave up some value following a wave of liquidations that swept through the market over the past 24 hours.
At press time, the market had managed to reclaim the $4.3 trillion after a brief dip.
With Bitcoin still trading near all-time highs, market sentiment, as measured by the Crypto Fear and Greed Index, remained within the lower bounds of the greed zone at 60.
However, the index was down 10 points from the previous day, which suggested that risk appetite had faded.
Altcoins fared no better, with most slipping into losses by late Asian trading hours.
Why is Bitcoin price down today?
Bitcoin price is dropping today as a mix of macroeconomic uncertainty, stalled economic data, and broader market jitters continues to weigh on risk assets.
The ongoing US federal government shutdown, now in its second week, has disrupted the release of key indicators such as inflation, employment, and consumer confidence figures.
Without this data, traders are left without critical cues to assess the direction of Federal Reserve policy, making it harder to gauge when rate cuts might arrive or how much liquidity could move into the crypto space.
The lack of clarity around interest rate expectations has left markets on edge, especially since Bitcoin and other crypto assets remain highly responsive to monetary policy signals.
Uncertainty around when the Fed will pivot or pause is feeding into short-term volatility, and that has begun to unsettle traders who had grown comfortable with the recent rally.
Adding to the pressure, the broader market saw a sharp spike in liquidations over the past 24 hours, clearing out more than $600 million in open positions.
The majority of these came from long bets, suggesting that overly optimistic leverage had built up as Bitcoin climbed to its recent peak of $126,198.
The pullback now unfolding appears to be a combination of profit-taking and forced selling, as traders reduce exposure while sentiment cools.
Another factor driving the downturn is concerns over delays in ETF approvals for major altcoins like XRP and Solana.
While recent regulatory changes from the SEC had raised hopes for faster progress, the shutdown has stalled these processes.
With government agencies operating at reduced capacity, the timeline for new product approvals has become less certain. This has softened one of the more bullish narratives that had been supporting market optimism in recent weeks.
Bitcoin also appears to be reacting to weakness in the US stock market, particularly among companies tied to the artificial intelligence boom.
Oracle’s stock dropped more than two percent after a report from The Information noted that the company was struggling to capitalise on demand from AI firms despite a large order backlog.
The ripple effect extended to other firms like Nebius and CoreWeave, and the resulting pullback dragged down tech-heavy indices.
Since blockchain and AI have become increasingly intertwined in investor narratives, weakness in one sector can bleed into the other, further eroding confidence.
Will Bitcoin price crash?
On the liquidation heatmap, a strong support zone had formed between the $120,000 and $121,000 levels, as indicated by the dense cluster of green and yellow bands in that range.
BTC/USDT 24 hour liquidation heatmap. Source: Coinglass.
So far, Bitcoin has bounced each time it approached this area, which implies that bulls are still stepping in to absorb the selling pressure.
If Bitcoin breaks cleanly below $120,000, it could trigger another round of cascading liquidations, particularly since the next major band of liquidity does not appear until closer to $118,000.
That opens up the possibility of a deeper drawdown in the short term, especially if macroeconomic uncertainty persists and risk appetite continues to weaken.
On the upside, a thick band of liquidation levels remains stacked around the $124,000 to $125,000 zone.
Price briefly touched this area earlier in the day but failed to hold above it, which indicates that sellers were quick to respond.
If bulls manage to reclaim and push through this zone, it could clear the path for a move back toward the $126,000 all-time high, especially if funding rates normalise and fresh buyers enter on renewed optimism.
According to pseudonymous crypto analyst Don, Bitcoin may have already found its local bottom after forming a clean double-bottom pattern.
BTC/USDT 4-hour price chart. Source: Don on X.
As Don noted, bulls stepped in before price could even retest the lower green support line, which shows that buyers are growing more aggressive with each dip.
The recent move confirms the neckline of the pattern just above $126,000, and if momentum holds, a break above this level could confirm the bullish reversal and open the door to a larger rally.
According to the chart, a potential upside target could stretch toward $142,000, which is the next area of interest based on the pattern’s projected height.
For fellow analyst and trader Kamran Asghar, braking out above $124,500 is the “trigger” for a rally towards $130,000. See below.
Amidst this backdrop, technicals were also showing signs of strength.
Notably, Bitcoin’s weekly MACD was on the verge of printing a bullish crossover, as observed by crypto analyst Ash crypto, a signal that many long-term traders watch closely for trend confirmation.
BTC/USDT 1 Week price chart. Source: Ash Crypto on X.
Price action over the next few days will likely determine whether the crossover confirms, particularly if Bitcoin can reclaim $126,000 and close the week with strength.
At press time, Bitcoin was trading over $122,300, with no gains on the day, and down less than 3% from its all-time high.
Top altcoin gainers
In the past 24 hours, the altcoin market cap initially fell from $1.83 trillion to $1.77 trillion but picked up pace later in the day as it surged back above $1.85 trillion ending the day with 1% gains over the period.
Market sentiment around altcoins remained largely muted, with several analysts pointing out their underperformance compared to BTC, which managed to hold support above $122k.
The Altcoin Season Index, also slipped sharply to 53 from 63 just two days earlier, signaling waning momentum across the sector.
“This is not what happens during Altseason,” noted market commentator Ted.
Ethereum (ETH), the altcoin with the most dominant market share dropped from $4.6k to $4,460 as of press time, down 2% while other large-cap altcoins such as XRP (XRP), Solana (SOL), Tron (TRX) and Cardano experienced similar losses ranging between 1-2% respectively.
Only 13 of the top 99 altcoins managed to hold gains above 1% on the day.
Despite the broader bearish sentiment, a handful of tokens managed to lock in modest profits by late Asian trading hours.
Zcash (ZEC) led the charge posting double-digit gains of over 21%, followed by Mantle (MNT) with gains of 9.25% and SPX6900 (SPX) following closely with a 7% rally.
Source: CoinMarketCap.
ZEC rallied as renewed attention poured in after StarkWare CEO Eli Ben-Sasson, one of Zcash’s original co-founders, publicly praised the project for its continued innovation in privacy technology and its active community development, and shared a series of recent positive updates surrounding the token
The token also gained momentum after the launch of Zashi, its flagship wallet, on the Solana Mobile dApp Store, which expanded Zcash’s visibility and accessibility beyond its traditional ecosystem.
For MNT and SPX, no specific catalysts could be identified.
The post Bitcoin price defends $122K support amid headwinds, ZEC bucks altcoin downturn appeared first on Invezz
Read More
Bitcoin price defends $122K support amid headwinds, ZEC bucks altcoin downturn
Oct, 08, 2025
6 min read
by Rony Roy
for Invezz
Bitcoin price remained in a consolidation zone throughout the day after bouncing off weekly lows touched the previous day, as bearish pressure returned on the back of macro uncertainty.
The total crypto market cap also gave up some value following a wave of liquidations that swept through the market over the past 24 hours.
At press time, the market had managed to reclaim the $4.3 trillion after a brief dip.
With Bitcoin still trading near all-time highs, market sentiment, as measured by the Crypto Fear and Greed Index, remained within the lower bounds of the greed zone at 60.
However, the index was down 10 points from the previous day, which suggested that risk appetite had faded.
Altcoins fared no better, with most slipping into losses by late Asian trading hours.
Why is Bitcoin price down today?
Bitcoin price is dropping today as a mix of macroeconomic uncertainty, stalled economic data, and broader market jitters continues to weigh on risk assets.
The ongoing US federal government shutdown, now in its second week, has disrupted the release of key indicators such as inflation, employment, and consumer confidence figures.
Without this data, traders are left without critical cues to assess the direction of Federal Reserve policy, making it harder to gauge when rate cuts might arrive or how much liquidity could move into the crypto space.
The lack of clarity around interest rate expectations has left markets on edge, especially since Bitcoin and other crypto assets remain highly responsive to monetary policy signals.
Uncertainty around when the Fed will pivot or pause is feeding into short-term volatility, and that has begun to unsettle traders who had grown comfortable with the recent rally.
Adding to the pressure, the broader market saw a sharp spike in liquidations over the past 24 hours, clearing out more than $600 million in open positions.
The majority of these came from long bets, suggesting that overly optimistic leverage had built up as Bitcoin climbed to its recent peak of $126,198.
The pullback now unfolding appears to be a combination of profit-taking and forced selling, as traders reduce exposure while sentiment cools.
Another factor driving the downturn is concerns over delays in ETF approvals for major altcoins like XRP and Solana.
While recent regulatory changes from the SEC had raised hopes for faster progress, the shutdown has stalled these processes.
With government agencies operating at reduced capacity, the timeline for new product approvals has become less certain. This has softened one of the more bullish narratives that had been supporting market optimism in recent weeks.
Bitcoin also appears to be reacting to weakness in the US stock market, particularly among companies tied to the artificial intelligence boom.
Oracle’s stock dropped more than two percent after a report from The Information noted that the company was struggling to capitalise on demand from AI firms despite a large order backlog.
The ripple effect extended to other firms like Nebius and CoreWeave, and the resulting pullback dragged down tech-heavy indices.
Since blockchain and AI have become increasingly intertwined in investor narratives, weakness in one sector can bleed into the other, further eroding confidence.
Will Bitcoin price crash?
On the liquidation heatmap, a strong support zone had formed between the $120,000 and $121,000 levels, as indicated by the dense cluster of green and yellow bands in that range.
BTC/USDT 24 hour liquidation heatmap. Source: Coinglass.
So far, Bitcoin has bounced each time it approached this area, which implies that bulls are still stepping in to absorb the selling pressure.
If Bitcoin breaks cleanly below $120,000, it could trigger another round of cascading liquidations, particularly since the next major band of liquidity does not appear until closer to $118,000.
That opens up the possibility of a deeper drawdown in the short term, especially if macroeconomic uncertainty persists and risk appetite continues to weaken.
On the upside, a thick band of liquidation levels remains stacked around the $124,000 to $125,000 zone.
Price briefly touched this area earlier in the day but failed to hold above it, which indicates that sellers were quick to respond.
If bulls manage to reclaim and push through this zone, it could clear the path for a move back toward the $126,000 all-time high, especially if funding rates normalise and fresh buyers enter on renewed optimism.
According to pseudonymous crypto analyst Don, Bitcoin may have already found its local bottom after forming a clean double-bottom pattern.
BTC/USDT 4-hour price chart. Source: Don on X.
As Don noted, bulls stepped in before price could even retest the lower green support line, which shows that buyers are growing more aggressive with each dip.
The recent move confirms the neckline of the pattern just above $126,000, and if momentum holds, a break above this level could confirm the bullish reversal and open the door to a larger rally.
According to the chart, a potential upside target could stretch toward $142,000, which is the next area of interest based on the pattern’s projected height.
For fellow analyst and trader Kamran Asghar, braking out above $124,500 is the “trigger” for a rally towards $130,000. See below.
$BTC is a ticking clock. The breakout above $124,500 is the trigger for $130,000. Which way will it break? 🤔
Amidst this backdrop, technicals were also showing signs of strength.
Notably, Bitcoin’s weekly MACD was on the verge of printing a bullish crossover, as observed by crypto analyst Ash crypto, a signal that many long-term traders watch closely for trend confirmation.
BTC/USDT 1 Week price chart. Source: Ash Crypto on X.
Price action over the next few days will likely determine whether the crossover confirms, particularly if Bitcoin can reclaim $126,000 and close the week with strength.
At press time, Bitcoin was trading over $122,300, with no gains on the day, and down less than 3% from its all-time high.
Top altcoin gainers
In the past 24 hours, the altcoin market cap initially fell from $1.83 trillion to $1.77 trillion but picked up pace later in the day as it surged back above $1.85 trillion ending the day with 1% gains over the period.
Market sentiment around altcoins remained largely muted, with several analysts pointing out their underperformance compared to BTC, which managed to hold support above $122k.
The Altcoin Season Index, also slipped sharply to 53 from 63 just two days earlier, signaling waning momentum across the sector.
“This is not what happens during Altseason,” noted market commentator Ted.
Ethereum (ETH), the altcoin with the most dominant market share dropped from $4.6k to $4,460 as of press time, down 2% while other large-cap altcoins such as XRP (XRP), Solana (SOL), Tron (TRX) and Cardano experienced similar losses ranging between 1-2% respectively.
Only 13 of the top 99 altcoins managed to hold gains above 1% on the day.
Despite the broader bearish sentiment, a handful of tokens managed to lock in modest profits by late Asian trading hours.
Zcash (ZEC) led the charge posting double-digit gains of over 21%, followed by Mantle (MNT) with gains of 9.25% and SPX6900 (SPX) following closely with a 7% rally.
Source: CoinMarketCap.
ZEC rallied as renewed attention poured in after StarkWare CEO Eli Ben-Sasson, one of Zcash’s original co-founders, publicly praised the project for its continued innovation in privacy technology and its active community development, and shared a series of recent positive updates surrounding the token
The token also gained momentum after the launch of Zashi, its flagship wallet, on the Solana Mobile dApp Store, which expanded Zcash’s visibility and accessibility beyond its traditional ecosystem.
For MNT and SPX, no specific catalysts could be identified.
The post Bitcoin price defends $122K support amid headwinds, ZEC bucks altcoin downturn appeared first on Invezz
Read More