Bitcoin price levels to watch as $81,000 support and $97,000 breakout target split the crypto trade

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 two-level trade right now: the crypto holds a bullish structure while it stays above $81,000 support, and the upside case only activates on a move above $87,200, with three separate factors pointing to $95,000-$97,000. Between those lines sits a roughly $6,000 range that Gareth Soloway refuses to trade with a swing position. Anyone signing up through the Coinbase referral link gets tier-one fee pricing, which matters more than usual when the plan is to buy in staged clips rather than all at once.

The setup was stress-tested when Bitcoin flushed to about $79,750 and then closed back above $81,000 — the same line it has hammered repeatedly. That recovery, not the flush, is the signal: the bullish structure is still intact until a daily close says otherwise.

Why Bitcoin is holding up while the AI trade and Nasdaq slide

Bitcoin's relative strength against a falling AI trade and a sliding Nasdaq is the most interesting part of the tape. Soloway's read is that crypto has been hanging in there even as the equity risk trade wobbles, which is unusual — Bitcoin typically trades as a high-beta risk asset that sells off first when growth stocks crack. Holding a major support level through that kind of external pressure is a sign that sellers are not in control.

That does not make it a buy. Soloway is explicit that he carries no swing position in Bitcoin, long or short, while price sits inside the range. The reason is mechanical: with support at $81,000 and the upside trigger at $87,200, the distance between the two is about $6,000, and a stop placed on the wrong side of either level gets hit by noise rather than by a real change in trend. Trading the middle of a range is how accounts bleed.

The three upside factors that converge at $95,000 to $97,000

Above $87,200, three independent technical factors line up in the $95,000-$97,000 band, which is what makes that target more than a round number.

1. Rising trend line near $91,000. A trend line drawn from the consolidation projects into the low $90,000s, and because it rises over time it could carry the target into late November rather than demanding an immediate move.
2. Measured move to $96,000-$97,000. The height of the consolidation, projected upward from the breakout, lands in the mid-to-upper $90,000s.
3. Prior pivot highs. Previous swing highs sit in the same zone, giving a third reason for sellers to appear there.

When a trend line, a measured move and old pivot highs stack within a couple of thousand dollars of each other, the area becomes a place to take profit or tighten risk, not a place to chase. The upside case only counts above $87,200 — below that trigger, the confluence is just a chart drawing.

The bear case: $81,000, then $75,500, then $67,000

The downside plan is staged, and the staging is the point. A daily close below $81,000 opens $75,500, where Soloway would commit only 25% of a planned position. The remaining 75% is reserved for the $67,000 zone. That split reflects a simple probability view: $75,500 is a first support, not a floor, so buying the full size there assumes a precision the market rarely delivers.

He has said publicly, including to Crypto Banter, that he would not go all in at $75,500, and he still treats the cycle low as in until proven otherwise. Those two statements are consistent — expecting a deeper flush is not the same as calling a new bear market. A close below $81,000 would weaken the structure; it would not automatically invalidate the larger bullish thesis.

Ethereum and HBAR: the altcoin levels in play

Ethereum's range has a heavy buy zone just below $2,000, with a $2,800 retest as the upside objective on a breakout. The sub-$2,000 area is where demand previously appeared, which is why it is treated as accumulation rather than a stop-out level. A move through resistance would shift attention to $2,800.

HBAR offered a swing trade rather than a long-term position: a retrace to the scene of the crime — the level where price previously broke down or broke out — with a target near $0.10. The lesson generalizes to any altcoin: wait for price to return to the level that caused the last violent move, and define the target before entering.

Why a written game plan beats emotional trading

The most common failure in crypto is not a bad forecast, it is entering without defined levels, size and invalidation. Soloway's framework is deliberately boring: know the support, know the trigger, know the add zones, and decide the percentage at each one before the candle prints. A trader who has already written "25% at $75,500, the rest at $67,000" cannot panic into a full-size buy at the first red candle, and cannot freeze when price recovers.

Viewers raise a related practical question — how to short Bitcoin or other coins on an exchange like Coinbase. The honest answer is that spot platforms are not built for it: shorting requires margin or futures products, which carry their own liquidation and funding risks and are not available to every account. For most people following a level-based plan, the simpler expression is cash, stablecoins and staged spot entries, with the Coinbase tier-one fee signup reducing the cost drag of buying in several clips. Note that accounts idle for 30 days, and viewers who originally joined under someone else's link, can still qualify under the offer terms.

Reading the comments: fees, skepticism and the missing position

The audience reaction splits into three useful themes. First, cost: several viewers argue Coinbase's fees and spreads are too expensive, which is exactly why tier-one pricing and staged buying matter — a 25/75 split executed at retail fees eats a meaningful slice of any rebound from $75,500. Second, surprise: the disclosure of no Bitcoin swing position caught people off guard, a reminder that a public bull case and an active trade are different things. Third, education: the recurring complaint is that traders lack the knowledge to build a game plan at all, which is a process problem, not a prediction problem.

What would change the picture

Two closes settle the debate. A daily close above $87,200 activates the $95,000-$97,000 confluence and keeps the trend line relevant into late November. A daily close below $81,000 shifts the plan to $75,500 for a 25% clip and $67,000 for the remainder. Everything in between is noise, and the correct position size for noise is zero.

Conclusion

The Bitcoin crypto trade is currently a waiting game defined by $81,000 on the downside and $87,200 on the upside, with a $95,000-$97,000 confluence above and staged buy zones at $75,500 and $67,000 below. Ethereum's sub-$2,000 zone and $2,800 retest, plus the HBAR swing toward $0.10, round out the altcoin map. This breakdown comes from Gareth Soloway, whose channel pairs level-by-level chart work with explicit position sizing rather than predictions. If you plan to act on those levels, open an account through the Coinbase referral link to lock in tier-one fee pricing before the first buy clip.

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