Bitcoin spent the past week climbing from roughly $78,000 to test $82,000 twice, with buyers continuing to absorb pullbacks even as momentum cooled near local highs, Glassnode reported on Monday.
Early Tuesday Asian trading briefly pushed the price below $81,000, but the analytics firm said there is strong bullish sentiment and heightened conviction behind upward moves. Spot trading volume has increased, suggesting recent gains are gaining traction with broader investor participation.
Bullish Undertones Are Building
Glassnode concluded that Bitcoin’s market structure is improving, supported by stronger on-chain activity, healthier profitability, and more stable holder positioning. These factors point to constructive underpinnings for the rally.
“While bullish undertones are building, softer capital inflows and cautious sentiment indicate the market remains sensitive to shifts in risk appetite.”
Swissblock noted on Tuesday that Bitcoin remains in full momentum, describing the recent reset as similar to prior failed ignition attempts but with key differences. The firm said BTC has consolidated inside the cost-basis battlefield while momentum remains structurally strong; as long as momentum stays above the transition area, bulls retain control.
“Bitcoin has now consolidated inside the cost-basis battlefield while momentum remains structurally strong. As long as momentum stays above the transition area, bulls retain control.”
Bitcoin is still at full momentum.
The latest reset looked similar to previous failed ignition attempts:
→ Momentum briefly recovered
→ Failed to sustain above the transition zone
→ Rolled back into negative momentumBut this time was different.
Momentum successfully… pic.twitter.com/EBZdNLW0rD
— Swissblock (@swissblock__) May 11, 2026
Alphractal founder and CEO Joao Wedson noted that the 30-day change in exchange reserves tells a cautionary tale: historically, Bitcoin has pulled back when this metric turns positive, since inflows to exchanges typically precede selling or shorting activity.
At the same time, long-time bull Sykodelic remained optimistic, pointing out there have been no hard rejections, no large sell-offs, and no weak price action—only small rejections followed by higher highs. They highlighted that BTC sits above the bull market support band, the broader market mean, and the short-term holder cost basis for ten consecutive days, including a daily close above the 200-day exponential moving average.
“The wider market is fully risk on, and I am expecting $85,000 to be breached, likely this week,” they predicted.
BTC Price Outlook
On the day, Bitcoin pulled back slightly from another retest of $82,000 to about $81,100 at the time of writing. Over the past week the price has traded in a relatively tight range, but Bitcoin is up more than 13% over the past month and has trended steadily higher over the last six weeks.
Overall, market indicators signal improving structure and participation, yet analysts warn the rally remains sensitive to changes in risk appetite and capital flows. Traders and investors will likely watch exchange reserve trends, volume, and momentum areas closely to assess whether the current bullish bias can sustain further gains toward and beyond the $85,000 level.