Battle between Bitcoin bulls and bears spills over into 2026: Here’s the price levels to watch

Key points:

• Bitcoin is bearish successful the abbreviated word and could plunge to $50,000 if the $74,508 level is breached.

• The short-term inclination is apt to crook bullish supra $100,000, opening the doors for a rally to $126,199.

Bitcoin (BTC) began 2025 adjacent $93,000, earlier plunging to $74,500 successful April and past rallying to $126,199 successful October. BTC has fixed up a ample portion of its gains and is connected way to extremity the twelvemonth with insignificant losses.

Analysts are divided connected BTC’s aboriginal prospects. Some judge that BTC has topped retired and a carnivore marketplace is likely, portion others expect constricted downside and a rally to a caller all-time precocious successful 2026.

Another absorbing happening to ticker volition beryllium if BTC follows its four-year cycle oregon not. Many judge that Bitcoin favorable regulation, the motorboat of BTC exchange-traded funds and organization request for BTC makes the four-year rhythm redundant.  

While it is hard to foretell the aboriginal with certainty, charts supply penetration into imaginable outcomes. Traders whitethorn support a adjacent ticker connected the enactment and absorption levels highlighted successful the nonfiction and usage them arsenic an assistance for formulating trading strategies. Let’s analyse the monthly and play charts to summation a semipermanent presumption of BTC.

Bitcoin terms prediction

Bitcoin has been forming a bid of higher highs and higher lows connected the monthly charts, indicating an uptrend.

BTC/USDT monthly chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

During the erstwhile 2 corrections, the Bitcoin terms recovered enactment astatine the 20-month exponential moving mean ($88,049), making it a important enactment to ticker retired for. 

If the terms closes beneath the 20-month EMA and the April debased of $74,508, the series of higher lows volition beryllium broken. Such a determination suggests that request is drying up, and buyers are waiting for little levels to enter. That whitethorn enactment the brakes connected the uptrend, pulling the terms down toward $50,000.

Instead, if the terms turns up from the 20-week EMA and rises supra the intelligence $100,000 level, it suggests that the uptrend remains intact. The bulls volition past effort to thrust the terms to the all-time precocious of $126,199, wherever the bears are expected to equine a beardown defense. If the buyers prevail, the BTC/USDT brace could commencement the adjacent limb of the uptrend to $141,188 and past to $178,621.

BTC/USDT play chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Zooming successful connected BTC’s play charts, the near-term looks bearish. The moving averages are connected the verge of completing a bearish crossover for the archetypal clip since January 2022. The erstwhile bearish crossover resulted successful an extended downtrend.

The brace is apt to driblet to the $74,508 level, wherever the buyers are expected to equine a beardown defense. However, erstwhile the sentiment is negative, rallies are viewed arsenic a selling opportunity. In April 2022, bears halted the rally astatine the moving averages, and the downtrend resumed. 

If past repeats and the terms turns down from the moving averages, the brace whitethorn again driblet to the $74,508 level. The repeated retest of a enactment level tends to weaken it. A interruption and adjacent beneath the $74,508 level whitethorn past signifier a bearish head-and-shoulders pattern, opening the gates for a diminution to $50,000. Such a determination could hold the resumption of the uptrend, arsenic markets thin to consolidate aft a crisp decline, arsenic seen from June 2022 to February 2023.

The antagonistic presumption volition beryllium invalidated if the terms turns up and breaks supra the moving averages. That suggests the $74,508 level is acting arsenic a floor. The brace whitethorn past dash toward the $126,199 resistance.

This nonfiction does not incorporate concern proposal oregon recommendations. Every concern and trading determination involves risk, and readers should behaviour their ain probe erstwhile making a decision. While we strive to supply close and timely information, Cointelegraph does not warrant the accuracy, completeness, oregon reliability of immoderate accusation successful this article. This nonfiction whitethorn incorporate forward-looking statements that are taxable to risks and uncertainties. Cointelegraph volition not beryllium liable for immoderate nonaccomplishment oregon harm arising from your reliance connected this information.