Here’s What’s Driving Bitcoin’s Price Retreat from $100K

The asset has significantly backpedaled in a correction that appeared to intensify on Monday, November 25.

Woman looking in the distance at a digital Bitcoin thing.
Created by Gabor Kovacs from DailyCoin
  • Bitcoin has reversed after nearly clinching the $100,000 milestone a few days ago.
  • Standard Chartered analyst Geoffrey Kendrick has tipped a shift in the U.S. Treasury market as the likely culprit, among other factors.
  • Bitcoin may still have room to fall before taking another stab at the highly coveted milestone.

Towards the end of last week, the mood in the crypto space was festive. After a three-year wait, Bitcoin‘s price seemed certain to finally clinch the highly coveted $100,000 milestone. This target, however, failed to materialize.

Instead, the asset has significantly backpedaled in a correction that appeared to intensify on Monday, November 25, raising questions about the catalyst for the recent correction.

Treasury Market Shift To Blame?

After surging as high as the $99,800 price point on Friday, November 22, Bitcoin reversed in a correction that intensified on Monday, November 25. It traded as low as $91,400 on Tuesday, November 26.

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According to Standard Chartered Global Head of Digital Assets Research Geoffery Kendrick, Bitcoin’s recent correction likely correlates to a shift in the U.S. Treasury market. In a Tuesday, November 26 note, the analyst asserted that the catalyst for the asset’s recent steep drop was the U.S. Treasury term premium reduction following Donald Trump‘s nomination of Scott Bessent for Treasury Secretary.

The U.S. Treasury term premium is the additional return investors demand for the perceived risks of holding long-term bonds instead of short-term bonds. The recent reduction in the U.S. term premium represents a vote of confidence in Bessent as it indicates that the market is optimistic about the economy’s long-term viability.

Standard Chartered’s Geoffrey Kendrick contended that this optimistic economic outlook negatively impacted Bitcoin as investors see it as a hedge.

"lower term premium hurts Bitcoin, at least temporarily," Kendrick wrote.

At the same time, the Standard Chartered analyst also noted that Bitcoin was facing pressure from the looming expiration of monthly options. He stressed that call options worth over $1.6 billion at current prices with strike prices between $85,000 and $100,000 were set to expire on Friday. The market often moves cautiously, heading into options expiry, as they can usually lead to significant volatility as traders adjust their positions.

Bitcoin to Fall Further?

Kendrick speculated that Bitcoin will likely continue dropping in the short term before flipping bullish again. Specifically, he noted that the $85,000 to $88,700 price range could offer a good buying opportunity, as he highlighted that the $88,700 price level was the average buying price for ETFs and Michael Saylor‘s Microstrategy since the U.S. presidential election.

"So for me, I think we go below that USD 88,700 level before this retracement is over. Below that the BTC price has not gone below USD 85,000 since the huge up candle on 11 November. So thatโ€™s my buy zone, USD 85,000 โ€“ USD 88,700," he wrote.

According to the analyst, however, from this level, Bitcoin was likely to surge past the $100,000 price point to $125,000 by the end of the year.

On the Flipside 

  • Despite Bitcoin’s recent correction, the asset remains up over 118% year-to-date (YTD) at current prices.

Why This Matters 

Bitcoin’s recent correction raises questions about the state of the current bull market and whether the $100,000 price target is still within reach this year.

Read these for more on Bitcoin:
Bitcoin Price Rally Fuels $3.1B Inflows into Global Crypto Funds
Bitcoin L2 Stacks Is Getting a Liquidity Boost From Velar: Hereโ€™s How

This article is for information purposes only and should not be considered trading or investment advice. Nothing herein shall be construed as financial, legal, or tax advice. Trading forex, cryptocurrencies, and CFDs pose a considerable risk of loss.

Author
Okoya David

David Okoya is a journalist at DailyCoin covering DeFi ecosystems and exchanges. David has moderate holdings in Bitcoin, and minor holdings in LINK, DOT, INJ, and memecoins.

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