Bitcoin stalls near record high amid derivative pressure

Bitcoin (BTC) continues to show chain strength despite its long price compression period between $100,000 and $105,000.

Chris Kuiper, The Flagship Crypto, according to Vice President of Research at Fidelity Digital Assets It remains in the “acceleration stage.” A period that is characterized by increased wallet profitability and volatility, even if derivative activities weaken the upward momentum.

Bitcoin was closed on May 13th at $104,119, with 99% of addresses making a profit. Fidelity data suggest that you are eligible for a high-volatile session for 10 days. Historically, this phase has coincided with breakout moves, including a surge following the US elections in late 2020.

Despite these conditions, Bitcoin was unable to conclusively infringe the upper resistance level. The closing price is primarily included within the narrow $94,000 to $104,000 band throughout the first half of May.

Create a derivative activity headwind

According to Report for May 16th The price action suppressed by encrypted contributor DarkFost comes from structural pressure in the derivatives market.

The report highlighted that cumulative nettaker volume, a measure of aggressive trading flow, remains negative since Bitcoin recovered the $100,000 level. This imbalance indicates that the short positions outweigh the length and create sustained sales pressure.

Bearish positioning shows traders are skeptical of the short-term move towards a new all-time high and are actively betting on further benefits. As long as this imbalance persists, the possibility of Bitcoin upside remains capped despite its favorable situation and in the chain market.

Price stagnation in the presence of bullish foundations is not unprecedented. However, even strong network signals can be temporarily muted if the flow of derivatives overwhelms spot accumulation.

The current divergence between derivative activity and chain profitability highlights the friction in the Bitcoin price discovery process.

Bitcoin volatility hits record low vs. gold

Bitcoin’s calm price transfer has resulted in a historic compression of volatility.

Matthew Sigel, Head of Digital Asset Research at Vaneck; It’s attracting attention On May 16th, Bitcoin’s 30-day volatility fell below gold for the first time since data tracking began.

Based on Bloomberg terminal metrics, the BBR/GC1 ratio is currently 0.857, the lowest level for a decade.

While the position of derivatives remains a short-term barrier, historical patterns suggest that long-term volatility suppression often precedes large-directional movements.

Whether this happens again depends on taker flow shifts, macro conditions, and fluidity conditions.

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