Bitcoin is closing in on a technical setup it hasn't shown in more than a year: all three of its major moving averages — the 50-day, 100-day and 200-day — are on the verge of stacking in full bullish order. If the short-term average confirms above the long-term ones in the coming sessions, it would mark the first complete bullish alignment since June 2025. Technical traders have been watching this exact bitcoin moving average signal for weeks, according to market data reported by CoinDesk.
Why the Moving-Average Crossover Matters
Traders watch moving averages to gauge whether a trend is accelerating or fading. A bullish stack — short-term average above medium-term, medium-term above long-term — signals that recent price action is outpacing the longer historical trend, a classic sign of sustained upward momentum rather than a short-lived bounce.
Vikram Subburaj, CEO of India-based exchange Giottus, told CoinDesk the setup effectively confirms that bitcoin's rebound over the past quarter has staying power, though he cautioned that a crossover alone is not a guarantee of what comes next. History backs that caution: a similar alignment that formed in October 2020 preceded a rally that carried bitcoin from roughly $13,600 to a then-record above $64,000 by mid-2021, and a November 2023 setup held through a run from about $35,000 to $73,000. But other alignments have fizzled — a June 2025 stack lasted 97 days for only modest gains, and a June 2024 version collapsed within three weeks as bitcoin fell roughly 10%.
Price Action: Bitcoin Stalls Twice Below $87,000
The technical setup is forming against a choppy backdrop. Bitcoin pushed to nearly $87,000 early this week — within roughly $500 of its late-September peak — before sellers dragged it back under $86,000, according to a separate CoinDesk market report. It's the second time in a week that a rally toward that level has stalled, with the earlier attempt following a softer U.S. inflation reading. This time, a weaker U.S. jobs report fed hopes of slower Federal Reserve rate hikes and lifted broader risk assets, including the Nasdaq 100 to a record close, even as the dollar simultaneously strengthened against a weakening euro.
Bitcoin has gained more than 40% since the start of the third quarter, but the advance has lost momentum near the $85,000–$87,000 band over the past two weeks. Live, continuously updated pricing is available on CryptoCloudNews' bitcoin price page, alongside the rest of the crypto markets overview for context on how altcoins are trading through the same stretch.
What to Watch Next
With the alignment close to confirming, analysts say the more meaningful test is what happens afterward: whether bitcoin can hold above its 50-day moving average through the next pullback. A close above $87,000 would be the first sign that buyers can clear the late-September high outright, while a drop back under the 50-day line would undercut the bullish case before it fully forms.
For now, the setup is a reason for cautious optimism rather than certainty. Two of the last four comparable alignments preceded multi-month rallies; the other two fizzled within weeks. What makes this one worth tracking is the combination of a genuine quarterly recovery — bitcoin is still up more than 40% since July — with a macro backdrop of softening U.S. labor data that has historically supported risk assets. Traders who want an early read on which outcome is unfolding will likely watch the 50-day average and the $87,000 level together, rather than either signal in isolation.