Bitcoin Drops Below $88,000 as Gold, Silver Reach Record Highs

The Bitcoin price traded near on-month lows on Monday, extending sharp losses from last week as investors remained cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting and after heavy liquidations swept through leveraged crypto markets.

After hitting a high near $97,800 less than two weeks ago, BTC price has now dropped below $88,000, currently trading at $87,931 as of 03:14 a.m. EST.

This comes even as the crypto space recorded massive losses, with the crypto market capitalization dropping nearly 1% to $2.97 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap data.

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index has also plunged to extreme fear at 29, indicating that investors remain cautious.

Meanwhile, investors have turned to safe-haven assets, with gold and Silver hitting new all-time highs (ATH). Gold surged to a record high of above $5,100/ounce, while Silver hit a record of $109.44.

The two have now pulled back, but positive sentiment bends towards the assets as the crypto space remains cautious.

Liquidations, Fed Caution Weigh On Crypto Markets

Bitcoin’s price dropped around 6% over the past week amid a broader risk-off move across financial markets, driven by rising uncertainty over global monetary policy, sharp swings in foreign exchange markets, and volatility in US Treasury yields.

The selloff was made worse by forced liquidations in derivatives markets, where highly leveraged positions were unwound at speed.

Over the last 24 hours, the BTC price has traded between an intraday low of $86,126 and a high of around $88,800. As a result of this volatility, which has gone hand in hand with the crypto space, over $739 million in liquidations have occurred, with $158 million from BTC’s long positions, according to Coinglass data.

The market is cautious as it awaits the Fed’s two-day policy meeting, which concludes on Wednesday.

Markets widely expect the Fed to keep interest rates unchanged. Traders will closely weigh Chair Jerome Powell’s remarks for clues on the timing and scale of potential rate cuts later this year.

Most altcoins also fell on Monday, extending losses amid a cautious mood. Can Bitcoin’s price still recover amid these conditions?

Bitcoin Price Trades in a Range as Sellers Defend Resistance

The Bitcoin price is currently bouncing from the $86,000 level and trading within the $87,500–$88,000 area, below the 50-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) at $90,100 and well below the 200-day SMA at $105,000, which signals ongoing weakness on the daily timeframe.

After the sharp sell-off from the November highs, BTC found support in the $84,000–$86,000 demand zone, where buyers have repeatedly defended the price. Since then, Bitcoin has traded sideways, forming a range-bound pattern rather than a clear reversal.

While short-term bounces have occurred, BTC’s price has failed to set higher highs, keeping the recovery attempt fragile.

However, the broader trend remains mixed to bearish, as the 50-day SMA is sloping downward and acting as dynamic resistance. The highlighted $92,000–$95,000 resistance zone has already rejected Bitcoin’s price several times, confirming that sellers remain active at higher levels and limiting upside momentum.

Bitcoin’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) is currently around 41, which is below the neutral 50 level. This suggests that momentum remains tilted toward sellers, though conditions are not yet oversold.

BTC/USD Chart Analysis: TradingView

The 1-day BTC/USD chart analysis suggests that Bitcoin may attempt another bounce from the lower-range support, potentially pushing the price back toward the $95,000 resistance zone.

A close above this resistance zone would improve the possibility of BTC rallying towards $100,000. This move would also likely coincide with RSI reclaiming the 50 level, signaling improving momentum.

On the downside, failure to hold the $84,000–$86,000 support zone could trigger a deeper continuation of the correction, exposing BTC to lower levels below the current range.

If the bears continue exerting pressure and BTC drops below $84,000, the next key support will be the previous demand zone around $82,000.