Bitcoin repeatedly tested the key resistance level at 89,200 multiple times before finally surging to 90,123 with a small amount of buying pressure. From the candlestick pattern, the gap combined with a large bullish candle initially looks very bullish.

But deeper analysis reveals that this rally is actually riddled with flaws.

**Trading Volume Is the Real Truth**

The trading volume during the breakout was only slightly higher than the previous few hours and far from the healthy breakout standard of $35B+ daily average. This is a typical "low liquidity pulse"—with Europe and the US still on holiday, large funds haven't entered the market much, and the absence of major players makes it easy for small orders to push prices up or be knocked down by selling pressure.

**On-Chain Signals Are Very Strange**

As the price approached 90,000, large holders with over 5,000 BTC started transferring funds to exchanges. A major exchange placed a single sell order of over 12,000 BTC in the 89,800-90,200 range, worth about $1.08 billion. This move is very obvious—whales are offloading.

**Options Market Is Also Playing a Game**

On December 26, $23.3 billion worth of BTC options are expiring, with a large concentration of call options at the 90,000-92,000 range. Market makers, to avoid large exercise risk, tend to suppress prices when approaching these key levels, which is known as "Gamma squeeze backlash."

So, what is the real story behind this breakout? A classic scenario where bulls test the waters, only to be collectively reversed by bears.