‘Trump dump’ risks pulling Bitcoin price down to $88K

‘Trump dump’ risks pulling Bitcoin price down to $88K

Bitcoin (BTC) fell below $96,000 on Jan. 8 as a spot sell-off forced BTC price action to a “pivotal” level.

Bitcoin Price, Markets, Market Analysis

BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

BTC price losses mount with $88K “highly probable”

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView tracked BTC/USD as it shed another 1.7% on the day.

This joined existing losses which had taken the pair down more than $5,000 at the hands of fresh US macroeconomic concerns.

Spot sellers were in control, with onchain analytics platform CryptoQuant warning of increasing “pressure” on global exchange Binance.

“The hourly Net Taker Volume on Binance turned sharply negative today, signaling a significant increase in selling pressure,” contributor Darkfost reported in one of its Quicktake blog posts. 

“It reached a peak of -$325M, the highest value in 2025, during the release of the ISM PMI and JOLTs Job Openings data, which revealed unfavorable results for risky assets.”

Bitcoin hourly net taker volume (screenshot). Source: CryptoQuant

Popular trader Skew meanwhile flagged $95,000 as the key short-term level going forward, with BTC price less than $500 away at the time of writing.

“Right around 1D lows ($92K – 88K), bid liquidity has been buffered up a decent amount with increased demand,” part of his latest analysis on X read.

“Spot flow is going to be vital the rest of this week & $95K will be pivotal.”

BTC/USDT 30-minute chart with liquidity data. Source: Skew/X

An accompanying chart showed blocks of liquidity waiting further down the Binance order book, with buyers interested toward $88,000.

Considering what might happen in the coming weeks, fellow trader Johnny was among those forecasting a dip to that zone.

“I think a move like this over the next 2-3 weeks going into the inauguration is highly probable,” he told X followers, referring to the start of US President-Elect Donald Trump’s term in office.

BTC/USDT perpetual swaps 4-hour chart. Source: Johnny/X

Others were less anxious, with trader and analyst Josh Rager seeing the potential for a rebound by the end of the week.

“$BTC not overly concerned on today’s chop price action,” he concluded on Jan. 7.

“Could still see today close read and tomorrow but bounce by weekend as we’ve seen in this range.”

BTC/USD 1-day chart. Source: Josh Rager/X

Demand backs Bitcoin bull case

Continuing the positive slant on the market, CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju revealed solid demand behind meandering price performance.

Related: Back to $76K for 2025? 5 Things to know in Bitcoin this week

In his own X thread this week, Ki referenced the Apparent Demand indicator, which compares the amount of mined Bitcoin to those held for at least a year.

“Bitcoin apparent demand is back,” he summarized.

Bitcoin Apparent Demand. Source: Ki Young Ju/X

Earlier, Cointelegraph reported on sell-side pressure from exchanges “shrinking at a rapid pace,” potentially limiting downside impact during snap price moves.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.