Over the past 90 days, bitcoin (BTC) has been in a state of consolidation, hovering between the $91,000 and $102,000 range. Analysts at the crypto exchange Bitfinex have revealed that the cryptocurrency is currently at a “critical juncture” after this prolonged trading pattern.

According to the market experts, Bitcoin’s next major move will likely be determined by macroeconomic trends – this scenario appears to be playing out already, as BTC has fallen below $87,000.

Bitcoin at a Critical Juncture

With the market in a contraction phase, institutional interest in Bitcoin and Ethereum has slowed, as seen in spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) flows from last week. ETF flows have fallen from 45,000 coins purchased per day to 1,000 in the past week. Bitcoin ETFs experienced outflows every day last week, with negative flows surpassing $360 million on Thursday.

Bitfinex says this reduction in institutional BTC demand indicates a weakening bullish momentum for the digital asset.

The stalling market momentum was offset on Friday after the leading crypto exchange and derivatives platform Bybit was hacked for more than $1.4 billion in ether (ETH). The Bybit incident and a sharp options expiry sell-off for the SP 500 triggered a 4.7% decline in bitcoin’s price to $95,000 before the asset recovered over the weekend.

BTC Falls Below $88K

Although BTC moved within a 6.5% peak-to-trough range, the asset has now fallen below $90,000, suggesting that it has broken this range to the downside. At the time of writing, data from CoinMarketCap showed the cryptocurrency changing hands at $87,500 after a 9% decline in the last 24 hours.

Bitcoin’s decline below $90,000 comes amid a lack of the momentum required for a sustained breakout. This market dynamic has also affected almost all major crypto assets, leading to a period of contraction among them.

Evaluating the performance of major assets as of February 22, BTC had lost 6% of its gains from November-December 2024, ETH had plummeted 16.9%, while Solana and the meme coins index had declined 33.1% and 37.4%, respectively.

Meanwhile, Bitfinex said a similar stagnation witnessed in traditional finance markets, especially the SP 500, has contributed significantly to the stalling market momentum.

“A notable example was the sharp decline of more than 2.1 percent in the stock market on February 21, following the options expiry. This reflects how the broader equity marketʼs suppression has affected risk assets in general, including cryptocurrencies,” the crypto exchange added.