Bitcoin price has pulled back, but the bigger structure has not broken. After the first peak of 2026 on January 14, BTC corrected by nearly 6%, briefly dipping toward the $92,000 area. Since then, the BTC price has stabilized, even though it still shows a roughly 2.6% drop over the past 24 hours.
At first glance, the move looks weak. But when you step back, both the chart structure and on-chain data suggest this dip may be controlled profit booking rather than the start of a deeper breakdown. The key question now is simple: is this just a pause, or is Bitcoin setting up for its next move higher?
Cup-And-Handle Structure Keeps The Bullish Bias Alive
On the daily chart, Bitcoin is still trading inside the handle of a cup-and-handle pattern. This matters because the handle is forming above a rising neckline. A rising handle shows buyers are stepping in at higher levels, which usually increases the chance of a successful breakout if resistance is cleared.
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Another supportive signal comes from momentum. Between November 4 and January 19, the Bitcoin price is making a lower low, but the Relative Strength Index, or RSI, is forming a higher low. RSI measures momentum by comparing recent gains to recent losses. When price falls but RSI improves, it signals selling pressure is weakening.
The analytics team at all-in-one crypto ecosystem B2BINPAY, in an exclusive commentary to BeInCrypto, said the price action suggests patience rather than exhaustion.
“What we see with Bitcoin is that it’s gradually moving out of the long flat phase that began in mid-November 2025. There is no sharp burst of activity on the chart, and that usually means a pause before the market makes another attempt to test the $100,000 level,” they mentioned.
This bullish divergence suggests the broader three-month downtrend, during which Bitcoin is still down about 15%, may be losing strength. The divergence would gain confirmation if Bitcoin holds above $92,000 and starts pushing higher again. As long as the price stays inside the handle, the bullish structure remains intact.
So if the chart still looks constructive, why did Bitcoin drop in the first place?
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Profit Booking By Long-Term Holders Explains The Dip
The answer sits on-chain. The latest pullback aligns closely with profit booking by long-term holders, not panic selling.
Long-term holder NUPL, which stands for Net Unrealized Profit/Loss, fell from around 0.60 to 0.58 during the dip. NUPL measures how much unrealized profit holders are sitting on. A drop means profits are being realized. This was one of the steepest NUPL pullbacks on the monthly timeframe, similar to the decline seen between January 5 and January 10.
This is confirmed by the long-term holder net position change. This metric tracks whether holders with coins possibly older than 365 days are accumulating or selling. On January 14, long-term holders sold roughly 25,738 BTC. By January 18, that figure had expanded to about 62,656 BTC. That is an increase of roughly 150% in selling pressure in just a few days.
Despite rising profit booking pressure, analysts note that demand-side behavior has not weakened in a meaningful way. According to the B2BINPAY analytics team, broader market positioning still shows steady accumulation beneath the surface.
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“Buyers are present, but they’re in no rush. Meanwhile, large holders continue to accumulate. On 13 January, BTC ETFs saw almost $900 million in inflows, the strongest day since 7 October. That was also the day Bitcoin rose by nearly 8%,” they highlighted.
That selling explains why Bitcoin rallies have struggled to follow through recently. When conviction holders sell, it caps upside even if the chart looks healthy.
But it is not all negative.
While long-term holders were selling, another group was quietly doing the opposite.
Whales Are Still Accumulating As Key Bitcoin Price Levels Come Into Focus
Entities holding more than 1,000 BTC have continued to accumulate. Since January 12, the number of such entities has risen from about 1,273 to roughly 1,290. That is a small increase, but importantly, it happened before the dip and continued through it.
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This shows whales did not sell into weakness. Their accumulation helps absorb some supply, even while long-term holders take profits.
From a price perspective, Bitcoin now sits at a decision point. To regain strength, price needs to reclaim $95,200, which would signal a breakout from the handle. Above that, $98,800 becomes the next major level. Clearing it would open the path toward the pattern projection near $111,800, roughly 13% higher from the cup’s dynamic neckline.
The B2BINPAY team pointed to similar BTC levels while speaking to BeInCrypto:
“Overall, the structure favors continuation. As long as Bitcoin is above the $94–95k area, a move to $100k–105k is realistic within weeks, potentially reaching the $120k–140k range later in 2026 if demand stays in place. A failure would likely mean a pullback to $88–90k, where liquidity is already concentrated,” they mentioned.
On the downside, the structure weakens if Bitcoin closes below $92,000. A deeper break under $89,200 would invalidate the pattern entirely.
The recent dip was driven by profit booking, not fear. The structure is still bullish. Whales are still adding. But for the breakout to finally stick, long-term holders need to stop selling and start buying again. Until that happens, Bitcoin’s 13% breakout hope remains alive, but not guaranteed.
