Bitcoin Futures turn bearish – Can BTC price still break $80K?

After approaching $80,000, Bitcoin [BTC] has slipped under selling pressure. At press time, BTC traded at $75,520.59, after a drop of 2.24% in the past 24 hours.

This clearly painted a scenario of BTC unable to break past the $80,000 resistance level. It goes without saying that this price movement created a sense of caution among investors, which was very well reflected in Futures data. 

Bitcoin’s negative Funding Rate

Starting with the Funding Rate, the CoinGlass 4-hour chart on Bitcoin OI-Weighted Funding Rate against the price of BTC reflected that short traders were having the upper hand.

The multiple red bars in the month of April indicate bearish pressure, where the market was betting strongly on more downturns. However, the Bitcoin ETF market saw an increase in inflows of about $2.43 billion in April, indicating that institutions were largely absorbing the selling pressure. 

Volatility highlights BTC traders’ risk

Notably, the CoinGlass 4‑hour Bitcoin chart on the Long/Short ratio showed a mix of green and red spikes. 

However, the ratio clearly changed from mostly red spikes in mid-April to having a mix of green and red spikes by the end of the month.

But the persistent bearish momentum suggests that traders are attempting to catch a falling knife. Put simply, even though this implies a “buy-the-dip” strategy, traders are preparing for more liquidations if the price continues to decline.

Spot vs. Derivative divergence 

Finally, according to CryptoQuant’s Spot vs. Derivative divergence on BTC Trading Volume, though the price of Bitcoin increased to almost $79K in mid-April, trading volume decreased, suggesting weak momentum.

Clearly, leveraged traders had more control over price movements by the end of April because spot buying was extremely limited. Since leverage overshadowed strong real buying demand, the rally to $79K in short proved fragile.

Community reactions add to the bearish narrative

Moreover, a crypto analyst noted that the cryptocurrency community was wary, citing an STH realized price of $79,300. His analysis indicated that many recent buyers were already at a loss, which could pressure them to sell once prices rebound. 

Echoing similar sentiments, another analyst added, 

Overall, this indicates that Bitcoin is currently facing a difficult phase. 

Final Summary

• The price action of Bitcoin, along with Futures data, painted a very bearish picture of the leading cryptocurrency.
• The crypto community, which is mostly confident about Bitcoin, was also echoing bearish sentiments.