Bitcoin Loses $81,000 Support as Crypto Traders Watch Monday

Video: Bitcoin Loses Major $81,000 Support, Bear Market Returns? Key Levels To Trade
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· based on the channel Gareth Soloway
Bitcoin has lost its $81,000 support, the level Gareth Soloway had flagged for two weeks, and the crypto market now faces a simple test: reclaim it by Monday or risk a slide toward $75,500. The break happened on a weekend, when liquidity is thin, so it is not yet confirmed. Soloway, Chief Market Strategist at VerifiedInvesting.com, treats Monday's institutional flow as the deciding vote.
Why the $81,000 break is not confirmed yet
The sequence matters more than the single candle. Bitcoin sold off alongside stocks on Thursday, paused on Friday, then flushed on Saturday to just above $79,000. That pattern — equity-led weakness, a quiet day, then a weekend air pocket — is typical of a market where the only venue open is crypto.
Weekend moves happen on thinner order books, so they overshoot more easily and reverse more easily. Soloway's rule is to wait for institutional money to show its hand when traditional markets reopen. That is why the level to watch is not the weekend low but the Monday close relative to $81,000.
- Bearish confirmation: Bitcoin stays below $81,000 into Monday, opening the path to $75,500.
- Neutral-to-bullish repair: a reclaim of $81,000 that holds, which puts $87,200 back in play as the upside reference.
- What invalidates the breakdown: a fast move back above the lost level with follow-through, not a single wick.
Key Bitcoin levels to trade
Three numbers frame the entire setup: $87,200 above, $81,000 as the pivot, and $75,500 below. Everything else is noise until one of them gives way.
- $81,000 — the broken support and the confirmation line. A daily close back above it neutralizes the weekend breakdown.
- $75,500 — the next downside target if the break holds. Soloway assigns it a high probability once Monday passes without a reclaim.
- $87,200 — the overhead level that would come back into focus on a genuine recovery.
Position sizing should reflect the uncertainty: this is a coin-flip chart until the Monday test resolves, and Soloway explicitly stays on the sidelines when a setup reads 50/50 rather than forcing a trade.
Middle East risk and the crypto de-risking trade
Geopolitical escalation over a weekend hits crypto first because Bitcoin is the one market open when traders want to cut risk. A weekend headline out of the Middle East can therefore produce exactly the kind of flush seen on Saturday, without any change in the underlying Bitcoin story.
That dynamic cuts both ways. Panic selling into a thin book creates the wick; the institutional response on Monday creates the trend. For traders, the practical takeaway is to avoid reading macro headlines as technical signals and instead let the level decide.
Ethereum, Solana and the altcoin buy zones
Altcoins are where Soloway is preparing small accumulation positions rather than chasing.
Ethereum has touched a key trend line nine times, which makes it a well-defined reference. His buy zone sits at $2,000 to $1,950, a retest of the old breakout. Buying a retest means accepting that the level may fail, so size accordingly.
Solana trades near a first buy zone of $97 to $95, with a second level around $84. The chart carries a head and shoulders risk that Soloway is watching, which is a reason to scale in rather than commit fully at the first level.
Zcash has a buy level at $680 to $700, activated if support breaks. Hyperliquid sits on a long-term trend line with a buy level near $68 to $67. HBAR is a chart where Soloway added to a small existing position rather than opening a new one.
The common thread: these are levels where a trader is willing to start small, not all-in targets. A long-term trend line or a repeated touch is a reason to pay attention, not a guarantee.
Discipline rules behind the levels
Soloway's framework is as much about behavior as about price. Three rules do most of the work.
- Never fall in love with a coin. A chart is a probability, not an identity; attachment turns a stop-loss into a hope.
- Missed trades do not matter. There is always another setup, and chasing one that has already left the zone is how traders become the casino's customer rather than the casino.
- Let the best trades come to you. Waiting for price to reach a pre-defined level — $2,000 on Ethereum, $97 on Solana, $680 on Zcash — removes the impulse to act on a 50/50 chart.
The dating analogy Soloway uses resonates with viewers: you do not marry the first chart you meet, and you do not chase one that has already walked away.
Typical questions from traders watching this setup
Viewers of the breakdown keep returning to the same doubts. The first is whether a weekend move can be trusted at all — the answer is that it can be traded only with confirmation, which is why Monday matters. The second is whether it is too late to enter altcoins that are already near their buy zones; scaling in small, as Soloway describes, is the response rather than a single large entry.
A third recurring theme is subscriber growth and learning curve: newer traders ask how to apply levels without experience. The practical route is to write the level down before the session, wait for price to arrive, and judge the result by process rather than by one outcome. Finally, many ask about coins outside the main list, such as HBAR — the answer there is that a small add to an existing position is different from a fresh buy, and a chart that reads 50/50 is a reason to wait.
What to watch next
Bitcoin's Monday behavior above or below $81,000 is the single most important input for the entire crypto complex right now. A reclaim keeps $87,200 in play and likely lifts Ethereum and Solana back toward the upper end of their zones; a failure opens $75,500 and probably drags altcoins to their second levels, including Solana near $84. Traders holding the predefined buy zones in Ethereum, Zcash and Hyperliquid can let price come to them instead of reacting to weekend noise. The full breakdown, including the chart walkthroughs and discipline rules, comes from Gareth Soloway on his YouTube channel, where this analysis was originally published.
Key takeaways
- Bitcoin slipped below the $81,000 support Gareth Soloway had flagged for two weeks, flushing to just above $79,000 on Saturday.
- A weekend break is not confirmation: if Bitcoin is not back above $81,000 by Monday, Soloway sees a high probability of a move to $75,500.
- Upside reference sits at $87,200; the selloff began with Thursday's drop alongside stocks, followed by a Friday pause.
- Ethereum buy zone is $2,000 to $1,950 after nine touches of a key trend line; Solana buy zones are $97 to $95 and about $84.
- Other levels: Zcash $680 to $700, Hyperliquid about $68 to $67, with a head and shoulders risk on Solana.
Source: Bitcoin Loses Major $81,000 Support, Bear Market Returns? Key Levels To Trade · Markdown version
Questions & answers
Is the Bitcoin drop below $81,000 a confirmed breakdown?
Not yet. The move happened over a weekend, when liquidity is thin and moves overshoot more easily. Gareth Soloway wants to see whether institutional money supports Bitcoin when markets reopen; a failure to reclaim $81,000 by Monday is what would confirm the break.
What is the next downside target for Bitcoin?
If Bitcoin does not get back above $81,000 by Monday, Soloway sees a high probability of a move to $75,500. On the upside, $87,200 is the level that would come back into focus on a genuine recovery.
Where are the buy zones for Ethereum and Solana?
Ethereum's buy zone is $2,000 to $1,950, a retest of the old breakout after nine touches of a key trend line. Solana has a first zone at $97 to $95 and a second level near $84, with a head and shoulders risk worth watching.
Why stay out of a trade when the chart looks 50/50?
Because a coin-flip setup offers no edge, and forcing a trade turns the trader into the casino's customer. Soloway prefers to wait for price to reach a predefined level, accept that missed trades do not matter, and never fall in love with a coin.