BTC breaks through 90,000 USDT: multiple forces behind the first major threshold of the new year

北京时间1月2日，BTC突破90000USDT整数关口，现价90002.4USDT。这不仅是一个技术突破，更是市场情绪和基本面共振的结果。从政策利好到机构参与，再到链上巨鲸动态，多重因素正在推动这轮上涨。

The Significance of Breaking the Psychological Barrier

Technical Psychological Breakthrough

90000 is another important integer milestone for BTC after 80000 and 85000. According to relevant information, BTC has increased by 1.44% in the past 24 hours. Although the gain seems moderate, breaking psychological barriers often has psychological significance—these levels tend to attract a large number of stop-loss and chasing orders. It is reported that a trader bought 3,000 BTC call options expiring on January 30, 2026, with a strike price of $100,000 on Deribit, paying $2.86 million in premium. This large options positioning clearly indicates market expectations for BTC to continue rising.

Market Scale Support

BTC’s market cap share approaching 60% indicates that confidence in the entire crypto market is concentrated in Bitcoin. Binance disclosed in its 2025 year-end letter that the global user base exceeded 300 million, with annual trading volume reaching $34 trillion, and retail trading volume increasing by 125% year-over-year. This increased participation provides ample liquidity support for BTC’s breakout.

Resonance of Multiple Positive Factors

Policy Shift

In the past week, several positive signals have emerged from policy levels. According to reports, US President Trump stated that the US is exploring ways to increase its BTC holdings in its crypto reserves. This is a significant signal—government-level demand for BTC allocation could become a new upward driver.

Meanwhile, the UK Treasury is preparing new legislation to regulate crypto assets, with rules expected to be introduced before 2027. This shift from “ban” to “regulation” essentially confirms the legitimacy of crypto assets, which is a long-term positive for the entire market.

Institutional Participation Heating Up

Binance data shows that on most trading days, nearly half of the global BTC and ETH trading volume occurs on the platform. This reflects active trading by institutions and large investors. The activity of several whale accounts mentioned in the reports further confirms this:

• “BTC OG Insider Whale” holds long positions in BTC, with a total position size of about $758 million
• “Ultimate Short” is shorting BTC, but with unrealized gains of $11.53 million, indicating that both bullish and bearish forces are competing in the market

On-Chain Sentiment Complexity

Bull and Bear Confrontation

From whale data, the market is not one-sided bullish. Reports mention that “Die-hard Longs” have closed multiple altcoin longs, and currently high-leverage longs in BTC are in floating loss; meanwhile, the “Ultimate Short” is shorting 499.9 BTC with 20x leverage, with unrealized gains of $11.53 million.

This confrontation indicates that market disagreement still exists, but the fact that BTC has broken through 90000 suggests that bullish forces are temporarily dominant.

Options Market Signals

The $2.86 million in call options positions show that large funds are quite confident in BTC’s upward movement. Such large options trades are usually initiated by institutions or high-net-worth traders, whose actions often precede market movements.

Possible Future Trends

Based on current information, BTC’s rise is supported by fundamental factors. Policy positives, increased institutional participation, and growing trading volume all create conditions for further appreciation. However, it’s important to note that bearish forces still exist, and the 100,000 level after 90000 will be a new resistance.

Technical analysis from some institutions indicates sell points at 90123.55 and 89533.0, suggesting short-term profit-taking pressure may occur.

Summary

BTC breaking through 90000USDT is not just a price milestone but also reflects improvements in market fundamentals and policy environment. Factors such as Binance’s user base surpassing 300 million, annual trading volume reaching $34 trillion, and government-level BTC allocations support this rally.

However, on-chain whale activity shows clear market divergence, with bulls and bears competing. The key going forward is whether BTC can break the larger psychological barrier at 100,000. Before that, investors should pay attention to policy developments, institutional movements, and technical support levels.