Bitcoin is moving in a calm but quietly positive way right now. Prices aren’t exploding, but the market isn’t weak either. It’s what analysts are calling “bullish neutrality.”
Bitcoin is trading around $88,100, with about $34.3 billion in daily volume. Liquidity looks healthy, price swings are tight, and trading across spot and derivatives markets feels controlled rather than emotional.
The key signal comes from a composite market indicator that tracks several factors at once — things like buying pressure, open interest, funding rates, ETF flows, exchange movements, and price trends. This indicator runs from -100 to +100, and right now it sits at +16.3.
That puts Bitcoin in the upper neutral zone, not bearish, not overheated.
Historically, this zone has been a good place to be. Backtests from 2025 show that when the indicator stayed between +15 and +30, Bitcoin delivered average gains of about 3.8% over the next 30 days. That’s very different from the lower neutral zone, where prices tended to slip.
Just one week ago, the same indicator was down at -27, a bearish reading. The recovery to positive territory shows improving momentum without signs of excess.
Another important piece of the puzzle is what’s happening in the derivatives market.
Right now, short liquidations are dominating. The long/short liquidation balance sits at -11%, meaning more short positions are being forced to close than long ones. Long liquidations make up just 44%, below the 50% line that would signal bearish pressure.
In simple terms, traders betting against Bitcoin are getting squeezed. When shorts are forced to close, they have to buy — and that buying pushes prices higher.
This is why Bitcoin can move up slowly and steadily without hype. The upside pressure is coming from forced short covering, not from overly excited buyers chasing price.
That’s also why analysts see limited risk right now. Historically, when the indicator jumps above +30, it often marks short-term tops. But Bitcoin is still well below that level.
The warning sign to watch?
If the regime score drops back below zero and liquidations flip to mostly longs, that would signal the move is running out of steam and downside risk is growing.
For now, though, the setup remains balanced.
Bitcoin isn’t in a full bull run.
It’s not in danger either.
It’s moving higher in a controlled, healthy way, with shorts doing much of the buying and very little market froth. That’s why analysts are calling this moment exactly what it looks like — bullish, but calm.
