Bitcoin (BTC) Price: Traders Eye $90K Return as Social Sentiment Flips Bullish

TLDR

Table of Contents

Bitcoin sentiment on social media has turned bullish according to Santiment, with a score of 1.973
BTC price is fluctuating around $85,000, with recent highs of $86,000 before retracing to $83,000-$84,500
Fed Chair Powell has dampened hopes for early interest rate cuts, citing need to assess impact of US tariffs
Potential for $254 million in short positions to be liquidated if Bitcoin reclaims $85,000
Solana (SOL) led gains among major cryptocurrencies with a 6% increase in Asian trading hours

Bitcoin’s social media sentiment has flipped to bullish territory according to crypto analytics platform Santiment, even as the cryptocurrency continues to fluctuate around the $85,000 price level. This shift in sentiment comes despite Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell dampening hopes for early interest rate cuts.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization is currently trading at approximately $84,500, after reaching as high as $86,000 on April 15 before pulling back. Bitcoin has shown resilience in recent days, adding about 2% in the past 24 hours and 2.73% over the past week.

Santiment reported that its social media tracker, which measures sentiment based on the tone of crypto-related posts, moved into “bullish territory” on April 16 with a score of 1.973. This marks a change from the previous neutral sentiment, when scores remained below 1.606.

Social media users had previously been uncertain about Bitcoin’s direction as it repeatedly crossed above and below the $85,000 mark. Now, traders appear to be showing renewed optimism that BTC can regain the $90,000 level.

Market Implications and Liquidation Risk

If Bitcoin manages to reclaim and hold above the $85,000 price level, approximately $254 million in short positions will be at risk of liquidation, according to data from CoinGlass. Short positions are bets that an asset’s price will decline.

Several popular crypto accounts on social media platform X have shared bullish comments on Bitcoin. Jan3, the firm led by Samson Mow, suggested that Bitcoin reaching $500,000 “isn’t crazy.”

We’re not in the old bull runs anymore.
Now there are ETFs, nation-states, strategic reserves, and presidents talking about #Bitcoin.
$500K BTC isn’t crazy. @Excellion calls it the Veblen threshold, when the price goes up causing demand to go up even more. 🌍📈 pic.twitter.com/9AUKCsJ60i
— JAN3 (@JAN3com) April 16, 2025

Crypto trader “Ted” expressed the view that “Global money supply is going up, and eventually, this liquidity will go into Bitcoin. Just wait and watch.”

Another trader, Titan of Crypto, noted that “according to Dow Theory, BTC remains in an uptrend, consistently printing higher highs and higher lows.”

Not all sentiment indicators are showing the same bullishness, however. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index, which measures overall market sentiment, currently reads a “Fear” score of 30 out of 100.

Broader Crypto Market Performance

The recent sentiment shift follows a weak first quarter performance across the crypto market. Bitcoin and Ethereum saw price declines of 11.82% and 45.41%, respectively, over Q1 2025 — a quarter that has historically seen strong results for both assets.

In recent trading sessions, other cryptocurrencies have shown mixed performance. Ether (ETH), XRP, Dogecoin (DOGE), and BNB added between 1-3% in value, while Solana (SOL) led major cryptocurrencies with a 6% gain.

Lower market capitalization tokens showed more volatility. Hyperliquid’s HYPE surged 8.5% to lead gains among midcaps on no immediate catalyst, while Celestia’s TIA dropped 4%.

The broader crypto market appears to be responding to macroeconomic factors, particularly comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that have reduced expectations for near-term interest rate cuts.

Powell indicated that the Fed needs more time to see the effects of tariffs play out in the global economy. This stance suggests a potential “stagflation” scenario — a combination of weak economic activity alongside higher inflation, similar to what the U.S. experienced in the 1970s.

“Traders had been hoping for the Fed to come in with early rate cuts to bolster markets, but it looks like that’s not going to happen anytime soon,” Jeff Mei, COO at BTSE, told CoinDesk.

Mei expects Bitcoin to continue trading in the $80,000-$90,000 range until there is more clarity on tariff negotiations and rate cuts.

Augustine Fan, head of insights at SignalPlus, noted that Powell’s remarks disappointed those hoping for rate cuts, as the Fed is focused on preventing tariff-driven price increases from causing long-term inflation expectations.

Fan added that crypto markets largely “traded water,” though technical indicators remain “more constructive in the near term as long as BTC can hold above 81k.”

Market participants are now watching for details on Trump’s first trade deal and the upcoming corporate earnings season, which kicks into high gear next week.

Bitcoin last traded above $90,000 on March 6, making that a key psychological level for traders to watch in the coming days and weeks.

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