How to Trade Crypto When Bitcoin Tests the $81,000 Line and Eyes $97,000

Video: Bitcoin Came THIS Close to Breaking Down: $97K Next?

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Oct 20, 2026 · based on the channel Gareth Soloway

Crypto trading right now comes down to two numbers on the Bitcoin chart: $81,000 and $87,200. Bitcoin flushed to about $79,750 before closing back above $81,000 support, so the bullish structure is still intact — but only a push above $87,200 activates the upside confluence at $95,000-$97,000. Gareth Soloway walks through both scenarios chart by chart, and you can open an account through the Coinbase referral link for tier-one fee pricing before you place a single order.

The setup matters because Bitcoin has been hanging in there while the AI trade and the Nasdaq slide. That relative strength is the reason the downside levels are treated as buy zones rather than as a reason to panic — but only if you already have a plan written down.

Why Bitcoin's $81,000 support and $87,200 trigger define the whole crypto trade

Bitcoin is trapped inside a roughly $6,000 range, and the two edges of that range are the only levels that matter until one of them breaks. On the downside, $81,000 has been hammered repeatedly and held; the flush to about $79,750 was bought back within the same session. On the upside, $87,200 is the gate: below it, every bullish target is just a drawing on a chart.

That is why Soloway holds no swing position in Bitcoin, long or short, while price sits in the middle of the range. Trading the middle of a range is how accounts get whipsawed: stops sit too close to the noise, and the risk-to-reward on either direction is poor. The trade only becomes interesting when price commits to one side.

Three upside factors that line up near $95,000 to $97,000

Above $87,200, three independent technical factors converge in the $95,000-$97,000 area, which is why that zone is the logical first target rather than a round number picked at random.

1. The rising trend line. A trend line drawn off the consolidation lows reaches roughly $91,000 first and keeps climbing — which is why the same target can carry into late November without the chart needing a new catalyst.
2. The measured move. The height of the consolidation projected from the breakout point lands at $96,000-$97,000, a standard technique for estimating how far a range break can travel.
3. The prior pivot highs. Previous swing highs sit right in that same band, giving the measured move a structural reference instead of a bare projection.

When a trend line, a measured move and old pivot highs agree, the odds of a reaction at that price improve. It does not guarantee a reversal there, but it is where a trader should be planning to take partial profits or tighten risk.

What a daily close below $81,000 opens up

A daily close below $81,000 — not an intraday wick — opens the door to $75,500, and that is the first level where Soloway would start buying. His plan is deliberately incremental: only 25% of the intended position at $75,500, keeping the rest of the capital for the deeper zone.

The second zone is around $67,000, where he plans to load the remainder. Splitting entries this way is a risk-management choice, not a prediction: if $75,500 fails, the average entry stays low enough that a move back toward the range highs still repairs the position.

Asked whether he would go all in at $75,500, his answer was no. Going all in at the first support removes the ability to respond if the market keeps falling, and it turns a planned accumulation into an emotional bet.

Why the cycle low is treated as in until proven otherwise

Soloway's working assumption is that the cycle low is already in, and he holds that view until the market proves otherwise. The evidence is behavioural rather than sentimental: Bitcoin absorbed the flush to about $79,750 and reclaimed $81,000, and it has held up while the AI trade and the Nasdaq sold off.

That said, the assumption is not a reason to be permanently long. It is a bias that shapes how he sizes positions — buying weakness in tranches rather than shorting breakdowns — while the $81,000 and $87,200 levels stay the objective arbiters.

Ethereum, HBAR and the altcoin levels worth marking

Ethereum is range-bound with a heavy buy zone just below $2,000 and a $2,800 retest if price breaks out of the range. Treat sub-$2,000 as an accumulation area and $2,800 as the first place to reassess rather than a level to chase.

HBAR was a swing trade taken with Smart Money Crypto members on a retrace back to the scene of the crime — the level where the previous breakout originated — with a target near $0.10. The lesson transfers to any altcoin: the retest of the breakout level is the entry, and the prior high is the exit.

Common crypto trading questions from the audience

Viewers repeatedly raise the same practical issues, and they are worth answering directly.

• "No Bitcoin position at all?" Yes. Sitting flat inside a $6,000 range is a position. Cash is a decision, and it protects capital for the levels that actually matter.
• "How do you short Bitcoin or altcoins on Coinbase?" Coinbase's spot product is for buying and selling crypto; shorting requires derivatives or margin products that are not available to every account or region. Check what your jurisdiction and account tier actually allow before planning a short.
• "Exchange fees eat the edge." This is the most common complaint, and it is fair: spread plus fees on small, frequent trades can consume a thin edge. Fee tier matters, which is why the referral offer below focuses on tier-one pricing.
• "I already have an account — can I still use the link?" Accounts that have been idle for 30 days qualify, and so do viewers who originally joined under someone else's link, according to the offer terms.
• "Emotional trading is the real problem." Traders without a written game plan get whipsawed because every candle becomes a reason to act. Define entry, size, stop and target before the order, then let the levels do the work.

Useful links

• Coinbase referral for tier-one fee pricing
• https://www.VerifiedInvesting.com

The bottom line on this crypto setup

Bitcoin is one bad daily close from testing $75,500 and one strong breakout from a confluence target at $95,000-$97,000, and everything in between is noise. The plan is simple: no swing position inside the range, 25% of a buy at $75,500, the rest near $67,000, and bullish targets only above $87,200. Ethereum below $2,000 and the HBAR retest toward $0.10 follow the same logic of buying structure, not headlines. This breakdown comes from Gareth Soloway, whose chart work on the $81,000 and $87,200 levels is the reference point for the trade. If you are going to act on it, set up fee-efficient execution first through the Coinbase tier-one sign-up.

Source: Bitcoin Came THIS Close to Breaking Down: $97K Next? · Markdown version