Bitcoin trades sideways during holidays, watch $86K and $88K zones

Bitcoin’s price remains remarkably stable after briefly dipping below $87,000. Over the past 48 hours, there’s been little to no movement, and with the holidays approaching, the market seems to be entering a slow phase. Still, the last 24 hours saw a wave of liquidations, showing that sideways markets can still catch traders off guard.

Quiet holiday markets, but liquidations still high

Bitcoin is currently trading around $87,101, down -0.62% in the past 24 hours. On the weekly chart, BTC is still up slightly with a +0.59% gain. Despite this sideways action, a total of $234.9 million in positions were liquidated in the past day. Longs accounted for $169.7 million, while shorts made up $65.21 million.

According to analyst Daan Crypto Trades on X, the market is likely to slow down even further during the Christmas period. The New York session will open for a few hours today, so whatever movement is left for the week could happen during that window. Traders are currently eyeing the area below $86,000 and above $88,000 for potential liquidity grabs.

Order book heatmap shows where the pressure builds

The Coinglass heatmap clearly highlights where orders and potential liquidations are stacked. There’s a strong buy wall around $86,000, while the zone above $88,000 is full of sell orders and stop-losses. The price has been moving sideways between these zones, suggesting that larger players are waiting to pounce when enough liquidity piles up.

With a 24-hour trading volume of $36.6 billion, interest in BTC remains strong, but direction is lacking. Traders would be wise to stay cautious during this slow period. Liquidity grabs on either side can strike suddenly, especially when orders are tightly clustered.