Haider Rafique, Global Chief Marketing Officer at OKX, has warned of heightened volatility as Bitcoin approaches the $100,000 mark.
Bitcoin (BTC) rallied close to the $100,000 mark last week but fell short of breaking this psychological resistance level and had succeeded to $93,428 at press time. In a statement to crypto.news, Rafique explained that the pullback was triggered by “profit-taking” among Bitcoin holders.
According to the OKX exec, many long-term holders who accumulated Bitcoin around the $30,000 level are now realizing returns of two to three times their initial investment at current prices. This has positioned $100,000 as a key liquidation target for profit-taking.
At the same time, significant sell pressure from these profit-takers is being countered by strong buyback momentum.
Rafique highlighted that institutions like MicroStrategy, which continue to accumulate Bitcoin, are reducing available liquidity on exchanges and creating upward price pressure.
“The current long/short ratio reflects a slightly bearish sentiment, with more short positions than longs. However, this setup is precarious,” Rafique continued. According to him, as Bitcoin approaches $100,000, “dual-sided pressure” is likely to emerge.
On one side, long-term holders are expected to take profits, adding sell-side pressure. On the other, heavily leveraged short positions could face liquidations if Bitcoin crosses key thresholds, triggering cascading buy orders to cover these positions.
This combination, Rafique stressed, is a recipe for heightened volatility, with the potential for rapid price swings in both directions.
However, he noted that while short-term pullbacks are a possibility, they are unlikely to last long or trigger widespread panic. Instead, Rafique suggested that these dips could present attractive opportunities for buyers to enter the market.
“If there are pullbacks, these dips are likely to be seen as prime buying opportunities rather than triggers for panic selling. Looking at Bitcoin’s history, when it dropped to the $50K level, there was so much buying demand that it quickly rose back up to $60K.”
Other market pundits also agree that the possibility of price corrections cannot be ruled out as BTC tries to hit the six-figure milestone.
In a Nov. 26 X post, CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju noted that pullbacks of up to 30% are not uncommon during parabolic bull runs. He pointed to Bitcoin’s 2021 cycle when it surged from $17,000 to $64,000 despite enduring “multiple sharp corrections.”
Ju advised investors to manage risks and avoid “panic selling at local bottoms,” stressing that the market remains in a “bull market.”
QCP Capital analysts also echoed this sentiment in a recent investor note, describing recent corrections as “not panic-worthy,” adding that Bitcoin was “taking a breather” after its recent rally.