Bitcoin is playing it cool at around $97K, but under that chill exterior, something hot is brewing.

The king crypto has been doing the sideways shuffle under the daily SMA 50 at $98,838, and traders are getting antsy.

Do we pump, or do we dump?

The Support Game

Glassnode just dropped some numbers that got everyone's attention, saying that we’re looking at $96,300 as our temporary safety net – but that's not the whole story.

The real OG support sits at $92,200, where all the short-term holders are hanging out.

That may not seem too bad, but the reality of the situation is tenuous. 

You see, there's a massive liquidity gap lurking below these levels, meaning if we break down, there's nothing but air until $80,100.

Think of it like a crypto game of "the floor is lava" – except the floor might actually disappear entirely, and we wick down to levels we haven’t seen all year.

The Bull Case

Okay, but what if the opposite is true? Is there still hopium left on the table?

The short answer is yes – we're still 7% above the short-term holder cost basis, which offers a bit of a diamond-handed safety net… assuming those hands keep holding.

Plus realized profits just hit a three-month low, which usually means the paper hands are done selling.

So if selling is exhausted, and we’re still above cost basis, we might just be out of the woods… but this is crypto, so don’t count your profits until it’s all said and done. 

The Plot Thickens

Could this be the calm before the storm?

FTX is about to start paying out creditors, and the Fed's about to drop their latest meeting minutes, which could make the market a lot more skittish if not as rosy as predicted.

Either one could send Bitcoin on a wild ride in the direction that very few of us are hoping for. 

But don’t worry, the big names have our backs – Standard Chartered's out here calling for $200K Bitcoin by the end of 2025 and making us feel even more bullish by calling for $500K by 2028.

But when has crypto ever cared about traditional bank predictions?

Up, Down, Or More Sideways?

Bitcoin's current stability is about as reliable as Sam Bankman-Fried.

The next few days could determine if we're heading to $100K or taking the express elevator down to $80K.

Thankfully, these support levels are more like suggestions than rules, so there’ll be no shortage of drama either way. .