Crypto Now, Bitcoin's $81,000 and $87,200 Levels Decide the Next Move

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

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Oct 20, 2026 · based on the channel Gareth Soloway

Bitcoin is a coin flip between two clearly defined levels: it holds $81,000 and the structure stays intact for a run toward $95,000–$97,000, while a daily close below $81,000 opens $75,500 and then the $67,000 zone. That framing comes from Gareth Soloway's latest chart breakdown, and it is the practical answer to the question most crypto traders are asking right now — is this a dip to buy or the start of something worse? If you want the same tier-one fee pricing Soloway uses on his own charts, you can sign up for Coinbase through his referral link.

Why Bitcoin's $81,000 line survived another test

Bitcoin came within a hair of a major breakdown, flushing to roughly $79,750 before buyers pushed it back above the $81,000 support that has now been hammered multiple times. The important detail is not the wick itself but the close: the level held on a closing basis, which keeps the broader bullish structure intact rather than confirming a breakdown. Soloway's read is that Bitcoin has been remarkably resilient while the AI trade and the Nasdaq have slid — relative strength in crypto during an equity selloff is not what a market that is about to collapse usually looks like. Even so, he is explicit that he holds no swing position in Bitcoin, long or short, while price sits inside a range of roughly $6,000. That is not indecision; it is a refusal to pay for a trade that has no edge until one of the boundaries breaks.

The three factors that converge at $95,000–$97,000

Above $87,200, three independent technical factors line up in the $95,000 to $97,000 area, which is what makes that target more than a round number. Soloway walks through each on Coinbase's own charts:

1. A rising trend line that currently projects near $91,000 and climbs over time — which is why the same target could still be in play into late November even if price grinds sideways first.
2. A measured move off the consolidation, which projects roughly $96,000 to $97,000 once the range resolves higher.
3. Prior pivot highs sitting in the same zone, confirming the confluence rather than contradicting it.

The condition matters as much as the target: the upside case only counts above $87,200. Between $81,000 and $87,200 there is no trade, only noise — and that is exactly the zone where impatient traders get whipsawed.

The bear case: what a close below $81,000 unlocks

A daily close below $81,000 flips the script and opens $75,500 as the next level down. Soloway's plan there is deliberately partial: buy only 25% of the intended position, because a level that fails once can fail again. The remainder is reserved for the $67,000 zone, where he plans to load the rest. He has said publicly, including in comments to Crypto Banter, that he would not go all in at $75,500 — the distinction between a first tranche and a full allocation is the whole point of the plan. He also maintains that the cycle low is in until proven otherwise, which is a statement about probabilities, not certainty: the $67,000 zone exists precisely because that thesis can be wrong.

Ethereum and HBAR: where the altcoin setups sit

Ethereum is trading in a range with a heavy buy zone just below $2,000 and a $2,800 retest if price breaks out to the upside. The structure mirrors Bitcoin's logic — accumulation below, confirmation above — and the sub-$2,000 area is where Soloway would be a buyer rather than a chaser. On HBAR, the setup was a swing trade taken with Smart Money Crypto members on a retrace back to the scene of the crime, the level where the prior move originated, with a target near $0.10. The pattern is worth learning because it repeats across altcoins: wait for price to return to the origin of the impulse, define the invalidation, and size the position before entry rather than after.

Why a written game plan beats a strong opinion

The single most repeated failure mode in crypto trading is entering without predefined levels, which guarantees that emotion makes the exit decision instead. Soloway's framework is mechanical: know the level that confirms the bullish case, know the level that confirms the bearish case, know the size you will buy at each, and do nothing in between. Traders who lack a plan are not lacking intelligence — they are lacking a written set of if-then rules, and the market charges for that gap. A $6,000 range with no position is a valid decision, not a missed opportunity; the opportunity arrives when the range breaks.

Common questions from traders watching these levels

Viewers repeatedly raise three practical issues. First, whether a wick below $81,000 counts as a breakdown — it does not, which is why Soloway specifies a daily close below the level. Second, how to express a bearish view on spot-only platforms: shorting is not available on a standard Coinbase account, so the realistic bearish expression is selling into strength, reducing exposure, or waiting for the $75,500 and $67,000 buy zones rather than forcing a short. Third, whether switching to a referral link for better fee tiers is worth it — fee and spread drag compounds on every trade, and tier-one pricing is the difference between a strategy that survives and one that bleeds. Accounts that have been idle for 30 days qualify, and so do users who originally joined under someone else's link.

Useful links

• Coinbase referral: tier-one fee pricing and sign-up bonus
• https://www.VerifiedInvesting.com

Bottom line

The crypto market right now is defined by two numbers, not by a narrative: $81,000 and $87,200. Bitcoin survived a flush to about $79,750, and as long as it closes above $81,000 the path to $95,000–$97,000 stays open through the rising trend line, the measured move, and the prior pivot highs. A daily close below $81,000 shifts the plan to $75,500 for a 25% tranche and $67,000 for the rest, with Ethereum's sub-$2,000 zone and HBAR's retrace trade as the altcoin equivalents. The analysis is Gareth Soloway's, published on his channel, and the discipline behind it — no position inside a $6,000 range, a defined plan before every entry — is the part worth copying. If you want the same fee tier he trades on, start with the Coinbase referral link.

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