Bitcoin meets resistance at $85K as holders face selling risk

Bitcoin faces resistance between $84,000 and $85,000, where 864,520 BTC, or 4.3% of its total supply, last moved on-chain, according to analytics firm Glassnode. The data covers transactions recorded on Nov. 22, 2025, when Bitcoin traded within that range.

Glassnode linked the cost basis of the coins to Bitcoin’s difficulty in sustaining daily closes above $85,000. Most of the BTC was associated with one large holder transferring funds among several wallets. Such transfers generally do not affect the market directly.

Bitcoin has used the $84,000-$85,000 range as both support and resistance over the past 11 months. The range supported rebounds on Dec. 1 and Dec. 18. It failed on Jan. 31, when a recovery to $84,000 was rejected and Bitcoin fell about 20% over the following days.

Upward momentum also weakened near the range in May, September and October. Bitcoin reached a high of $87,400 during that period. The cryptocurrency has recorded five daily closes above $85,000, with no run lasting more than three consecutive days.

“A run of daily closes above $85K would turn the band back into support,” Glassnode wrote in its analysis.

Long-term holders, which Glassnode defines as entities that have held coins for at least 155 days, control about 4 million BTC with a cost basis between $85,000 and $118,000. Most of those coins were acquired in 2025, and more than half of the group’s holdings were bought above the price cited in the analysis.

Some of these holders may sell if Bitcoin recovers toward $85,000, seeking to exit near their purchase prices, Glassnode found. The long-term-holder spent output profit ratio, or SOPR, was 0.99. The measure compares the price at which coins last moved with their previous transaction price. A reading below 1 indicates that the group’s coins are moving at an aggregate loss.