Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) has dropped 6% from its early October high, but continues to hold above critical support at $80,400 and hit $82,000 on Tuesday morning.

Is BTC's Correction Turning Into A Downtrend?

Bitcoin's recent decline has pushed it towards the lower boundary of its three-week trading range, but holding above $80,400 means Bitcoin is undergoing a correction rather than entering a sustained downtrend, according to CryptoQuant's Axel Adler.

The price structure indicator dropped from +0.37 to -0.32 over the past week, signaling fading bullish momentum but holding on to neutral level.

Meanwhile, the futures market continues to favor sellers.

The futures buyer-seller index has stayed below 50 since Oct. 17, slipping to 46 after a brief recovery.

A move above 50 would signal stronger buying, while a drop below $80,400 with a structure reading under -0.5 could signal further downside.

Are Bitcoin Whales Signaling A Market Bottom?

CryptoQuant data suggests large Bitcoin holders are shifting from distribution toward accumulation:

  • Wallets holding 1,000-10,000 BTC have seen their 60-day net accumulation improve from negative 62,600 BTC to positive 5,230 BTC.
  • Binance's USDT reserves have climbed from around $790 million to $1.76 billion, suggesting growing potential buying power.
On the other hand, U.S. spot demand remains subdued:

  • The Coinbase Premium Index stands at negative 0.1416%, indicating weaker buying activity on Coinbase relative to other exchanges.
  • Weekly exchange netflows have also turned positive at 8,428 BTC, potentially signaling additional selling pressure.
  • Bitcoin's Short-Term Holder Spent Output Profit Ratio (STH-SOPR) stands at 0.9982, suggesting recent buyers are still realizing modest losses.