Many Bitcoin (BTC) traders became bullish this week as prices rallied deep into the $88,000 level, but failure to overcome this level in the short term could be a take-profit signal.

Alphractal, a crypto analytics platform, noted that Bitcoin whales have entered short positions at the $88,000 level. 

In a recent X post, the platform highlighted that the “Whale Position Sentiment” metric exhibited a sharp reversal in the chart, indicating that major players with a bearish bias have stepped. The metric defines the relationship between the aggregated open interest and trades larger than $1 million across multiple exchanges.

Bitcoin: Whale position sentiment. Source: X

As illustrated in the chart, the two circled regions are synonymous with Bitcoin price falling to the $88,000 level. Alphractal said, 

“When the Whale Position Sentiment starts to decline, even if the price temporarily rises, it is a strong signal that whales are entering short positions, which may lead to a price drop.”

Alphractal CEO Joao Wedson also confirmed that whales had closed their long positions and that prices have historically moved according to their directional bias. 

Bitcoin: Bull score signals. Source: CryptoQuant

Similarly, 8 out of 10 onchain signals on CryptoQuant have turned bearish. As highlighted above, with the exception of the stablecoin liquidity and technical signal indicators, all the other metrics flash red, underlining the likelihood of a possible pullback in Bitcoin price.

Last week, Ki Young Ju, CEO of CryptoQuant, noted that the markets were entering a bear market and that investors should expect “6-12 months of bearish or sideways price action.”

Related: Will Bitcoin price hit $130K in 90 days? Yes, says one analyst

Bitcoin outflows reach $424M in 7 days

While onchain metrics turned red, some investors exhibited confidence in Bitcoin. Data from IntoTheBlock highlighted net BTC outflows of $220 million from exchanges over the past 24 hours. The sum reached $424 million between March 18 to March 24. This trend implies that certain holders are accumulating. 

Bitcoin net outflows by IntoTheBlock. Source: X

On the lower time frame (LTF) chart, Bitcoin formed an intraday high at $88,752 on March 24, but since then, BTC has yet to establish a new intraday high.

Bitcoin 4-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

With Bitcoin moving within the trendlines of an ascending channel pattern, it’s expected that the price will face resistance from the upper range of the pattern and 50-day, 100-day, exponential moving averages on the daily chart. 

With whales possibly shorting between $88,000 and $90,000, Bitcoin needs to close above $90,000 for a continued rally to $100,000. 

Related: Bitcoin sets sights on ‘spoofy’ $90K resistance in new BTC price boost

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

GameStop Corporation (GME), the video game retailer turned memecoin stock, is reportedly moving to invest in Bitcoin after its board unanimously approved a plan to acquire digital assets. 

According to a March 25 CNBC report, the company announced that it would use a portion of its corporate cash or future debt issuances to invest in Bitcoin (BTC) and US-dollar-pegged stablecoins. 

The plan was further corroborated by the company’s fourth-quarter earnings report, which was released on March 25 and showed intent to acquire Bitcoin and stablecoins. 

“[T]he Company’s investment policy permits investments in certain cryptocurrency assets, including Bitcoin and US dollar-denominated stable coins,” the financial statement read.

GameStop’s cash reserves stood at more than $4.77 billion as of Feb. 1, compared to just $921.7 million one year earlier. 

The video game retailer posted $1.283 billion in net sales during the fourth quarter and $3.823 billion for fiscal 2024.

GameStop’s quarterly financial statements. Source: GameStop

Related: GameStop buying Bitcoin would ‘bake the noodles’ of TradFi: Swan exec

Following the Strategy playbook

GameStop broke from convention during the pandemic when it became the center of a meme stock frenzy that turned the company’s fortunes around. Since then, the video game retailer has shown signs of improvement, with a return to profitability in fiscal 2023. 

Rumors about GameStop’s interest in Bitcoin began to circulate in February, triggering a rise in GME stock.

Earlier in the month, GameStop’s CEO, Ryan Cohen, posted an uncaptioned photo on social media alongside Strategy executive chairman and Bitcoin mega bull Michael Saylor, which further stoked anticipation of an impending BTC purchase.

Source: Ryan Cohen

Now, more than one month later, GameStop appears poised to take a page out of Strategy’s playbook by adding Bitcoin to its balance sheet.

Earlier this week, Saylor announced that Strategy had acquired an additional 6,911 Bitcoin, bringing its total stockpile to 506,137 BTC. The company now holds roughly 2.4% of Bitcoin’s total supply. 

Related: Strategy announces 10% preferred stock offering to buy more Bitcoin

Bitcoin (BTC) mining revenues hit $3.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024, a 42% increase from the prior quarter, and are approaching similar levels of around $3.6 billion in Q1 2025, according to data from Coin Metrics. 

The revenue uptick suggests miners’ incomes are stabilizing after the Bitcoin network’s “halving” in April 2024 reduced mining rewards from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC per block. Halvings occur every four years and cut the number of BTC mined per block in half.

“With almost one year elapsed since Bitcoin’s 4th halving, miners have endured a period of stabilization, adapting to reduced block rewards, tighter margins, and shifting operational dynamics,” Coin Metrics said in its Q1 2025 Data Special report.

This recovery could be cut short if ongoing trade wars disrupt miners’ business models, Ben Yorke, VP of Ecosystem at WOO X, a Web3 startup, told Cointelegraph.

“Should semiconductor tariffs return, Bitcoin mining could face higher costs, consolidating power among major players and forcing smaller operations to power down,” Yorke said.

Bitcoin mining revenues since 2022. Source: Coin Metrics

Related: Bitcoin flips ‘macro bullish’ amid first Hash Ribbon buy signal in 8 months

Adapting after the halving

Bitcoin miners have struggled in 2025 as declining cryptocurrency prices added further pressure to business models strained by the network’s April halving, according to a March 3 JPMorgan research note shared with Cointelegraph.

However, well-capitalized miners have managed to adapt, according to Coin Metrics. In fact, Bitcoin’s hashrate — the total computing power securing the network — broke all-time highs in January, CoinWarz data showed. 

Common adjustments have included “upgrading to more energy efficient ASICs, [and] relocating to regions with cheaper and abundant renewable energy resources,” such as Africa and Latin America, Coin Metrics said. ASICs are specialized computer hardware used in Bitcoin mining. 

Additionally, “miners are also diversifying into AI data-center hosting as a way to expand revenue and repurpose existing infrastructure for high performance computing,” per the report. For instance, Bitcoin miner Core Scientific pledged 200 megaWatts of hardware capacity to support CoreWeave’s artificial intelligence workloads.

Bitcoin supply held long-term has increased over time. Source: Coin Metrics

Sustaining mining incentives

According to Coin Metrics, more transaction activity on the Bitcoin network would help sustain economic incentives for miners post-halving. “Over time, increased participation from higher-value or more time-sensitive activity could help drive stronger fee revenue, supporting miner incentives as block rewards decline,” it said. 

However, for now, “[t]ransactions below $100 currently represent ~60% of Bitcoin’s total transaction count,” according to Coin Metrics. This is partially because holders are increasingly treating Bitcoin as a buy-and-hold asset, rather than a medium of exchange. 

“Bitcoin’s supply velocity, measuring the ratio of adjusted transfer volume to its current supply (rate of turnover), has declined over time, reinforcing the idea that BTC is increasingly held rather than transacted,” the report noted.

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