BTC breaks through the 91,000 level, but institutions are quietly increasing their positions

Bitcoin continues its strong start in 2026. According to the latest news, BTC broke through the 91,000 USDT barrier, with the current price at 91,002.4 USDT. Interestingly, at this breakout point, the actions of institutional investors seem particularly noteworthy—they are not selling at high levels but are continuously increasing their holdings. Behind this seemingly contradictory phenomenon reflects the current market’s deeper logic.

Breakthrough and Pullback: The Truth of Short-Term Fluctuations

Based on the latest data, BTC’s current price is $90,681.92. Although it has broken through the 91,000 mark, the performance over the past 24 hours shows it hasn’t been smooth sailing. Reports indicate BTC has fallen 0.60% in the last 24 hours, and in yesterday’s market update, BTC was priced at $90,919.5, with a 24-hour decline of 1.3%.

Such short-term volatility is normal. The key is to look at the underlying support forces.

Price Performance Overview

From this table, we see that BTC’s short-term (1 hour) trend is upward, but there is a correction over the medium term (24 hours). However, looking at a longer cycle, a 7-day increase of 3.22% indicates the upward trend is still intact, which is a more significant signal to watch.

What Are Institutions Doing: Signals of Continued Positioning

During short-term price fluctuations, institutional actions often reveal more. According to the latest information, several key institutional movements are worth noting:

Institutional Holdings Dynamics

• Binance User Assets: According to Binance’s 38th Asset Reserve Proof, user BTC holdings are approximately 618,000 coins, up 1.41% from the last report, an increase of 8,607 BTC. This indicates that the exchange’s custody BTC is increasing, reflecting the willingness of institutions and large investors to hold.
• Strive’s Accumulation: Bitcoin treasury company Strive accumulated 101.8 BTC between November 10 and December 31, 2025, with an average purchase price of about $94,525. As of December 31, 2025, Strive held a total of 7,626.8 BTC, with an overall average cost of approximately $113,153.
• MARA’s Moves: Bitcoin mining company MARA transferred 519.46 BTC to FalconX, worth about $48.3 million.

What do these data points tell us? Institutions are continuously increasing their holdings or adjusting their positions, not panicking and selling due to short-term fluctuations. Especially for listed companies like Strive, increasing holdings when BTC prices are high is a clear bullish signal.

Market Ecosystem Stability

BTC’s market capitalization has now reached $1.81 trillion, accounting for 58.43% of the market. What does this share mean? In the entire crypto market, BTC’s position remains overwhelmingly strong. Even during periods when assets like Ethereum perform well, BTC still holds the pricing power.

The 24-hour trading volume is $4.349 billion, down 16.47% from the previous day, but this is normal market volume fluctuation and not enough to change the market structure.

Long-Term Holders’ Steadfast Attitude

An interesting detail from the reports: an anonymous address has been mining daily since November 2016, accumulating 4,165 BTC (about $375 million), and has never transferred or sold any of these coins in eight years. The existence of such “diamond hands” holders indicates that there are indeed market participants who are very confident in BTC’s long-term value.

Possible Future Trends

Short-Term Outlook

Breaking through and pulling back from the 91,000 integer level is a normal technical pattern. In the short term, BTC may continue to oscillate between 90,000 and 92,000 until it finds new support or resistance levels.

Medium-Term Signals

The continuous accumulation by institutions, increasing exchange-held assets, and the steadfast attitude of long-term holders all point to one direction: market participants remain optimistic about BTC’s medium-term prospects. Especially in a relatively friendly policy environment, this bullish sentiment could persist.

Summary

BTC breaking through 91,000 is a technical event, but more importantly, it reflects the underlying market logic. Short-term price fluctuations are normal, but the continuous accumulation by institutions, stable market share, and long-term holders’ confidence all indicate that the market’s foundational support remains strong. 91,000 is not the end but the starting point of a new upward cycle. The key is whether the price can stabilize at this level and whether macro policies continue to remain friendly.