Bitcoin (BTC) staged a solid comeback on Wednesday, pushing back toward the $90,000 level after recent weakness. The move higher came on the heels of two significant developments: Texas making a landmark Bitcoin ETF acquisition and Nasdaq announcing plans to expand Bitcoin ETF options trading. Both events signal growing institutional acceptance of crypto products.
The broader crypto market joined the party, with major altcoins posting gains alongside Bitcoin. Ethereum (ETH) traded at $3,026.46, while XRP (XRP) hit $2.23. Dogecoin (DOGE) reached $0.1558, Solana (SOL) stood at $144.14, and Shiba Inu (SHIB) traded at $0.00008645.
Market Volatility Takes Its Toll
Despite the upward momentum, the crypto market remained brutal for overleveraged traders. Coinglass data reveals that 110,219 traders were liquidated in the past 24 hours, wiping out $318.79 million. That's what happens when you bet big on volatile assets with borrowed money—the market doesn't care about your conviction.
Among individual tokens, the day's top gainers included Merlin Chain, Dash, and SPX6900, showing that money continues flowing into a diverse range of crypto projects.
What Traders Are Watching
The $90,000 level has become something of a psychological battleground. Altcoin Sherpa noted that traders are laser-focused on this level, explaining that a clean breakout could open the door to $93,000.
But history suggests caution around Thanksgiving. Daan Crypto Trades highlighted Bitcoin's Thanksgiving performance over the last decade: just 2 green years versus 8 red, with an average return of –0.8%. Not exactly a holiday to celebrate if you're holding crypto.
Crypto trader Jelle expects the market may soon present bears with an attractive short setup, arguing that the heavy resistance zone between $91,000–$93,000 could cap upside and trigger a slow bleed lower. That resistance zone has proven tough to crack, and if Bitcoin can't push through decisively, the path of least resistance might be down.
Still, bulls have reason for optimism. Jelle emphasized that the latest rally is spot-driven rather than perp-driven, a dynamic that typically gives upside moves more durability. When real buyers show up with actual cash instead of leveraged futures bets, rallies tend to have more staying power. It's the difference between building on solid ground versus building on quicksand.
Whether Bitcoin can break through resistance or stalls out heading into the holiday remains to be seen, but the institutional developments out of Texas and Nasdaq suggest the crypto infrastructure continues maturing—even if the price action stays as wild as ever.
