Finance

Bitcoin Braces for Impact: Can $110,000 Hold Amidst $4.9T Options Expiry and Liquidity Shifts?

Bitcoin eyes $110k amid a $4.9T options expiry, failing to break $117.2k resistance, with liquidity shifts adding pressure.

byAndres Castro

September 19, 2025, 6:50 PM

A person's hand holds a Bitcoin coin, representing cryptocurrency and financial market analysis.

As Bitcoin struggles to maintain its value, analysts are scrutinizing the cryptocurrency's impact on the financial market. By MDL.

Executive Summary

Bitcoin is experiencing fresh downward price pressure, with forecasts eyeing targets around $110,000.

This pressure is attributed to its failure to close above a key resistance level of $117,200 and a significant $4.9 trillion options expiry event in U.S. stock futures and options.

Order book liquidity shifts indicate a concentration of bids between $110,000 and $113,000, acting as a “magnet” for Bitcoin’s price.

The Story So Far

Bitcoin is currently facing downward price pressure due to its failure to close above a key technical resistance level of $117,200, coinciding with a massive $4.9 trillion options expiry event in U.S. stock futures historically linked to market volatility. This situation is further exacerbated by shifts in exchange order-book liquidity, observed after the Federal Reserve’s recent announcement of its first interest rate cut for 2025, which has concentrated bids below current prices, creating a “magnet” towards the $110,000-$113,000 range.

Why This Matters

Bitcoin is currently under significant downward price pressure, with forecasts suggesting a potential drop towards the $110,000 to $113,000 range. This anticipated decline is driven by a confluence of factors, including a massive $4.9 trillion options expiry event, which historically causes downside volatility, its failure to breach a crucial $117,200 resistance level, and shifting order book liquidity that now shows a concentration of bids acting as a “magnet” for prices below current levels.

Who Thinks What?

Analysts and traders anticipate Bitcoin will experience continued downward pressure, potentially moving towards the $110,000 to $113,000 range, citing its failure to close above a critical resistance level and a massive options expiry event.

Crypto investor Ted Pillows highlights that historically, significant options expiry events in U.S. stock futures lead to downside volatility and consolidation in both the stock and crypto markets.

Onchain analytics platform Glassnode observes shifts in order-book composition, noting that Bitcoin shorts at $117,000 were liquidated and long liquidations are now appearing at $112,700, indicating potential cascading price effects.

Bitcoin is facing fresh downward price pressure, with forecasts eyeing targets around $110,000, as a massive $4.9 trillion options expiry event coincides with a failure to close above a key resistance level. Analysts point to historical market behavior and shifting order book liquidity as factors contributing to potential short-term losses for the leading cryptocurrency.

Key Technical Levels and Options Expiry

The cryptocurrency narrowly missed a crucial daily close above $117,200, a level that traders had identified as a critical line in the sand. According to market analysis, a successful reclaim of this threshold would have allowed prices to retest the $120,000 mark.

Adding to the bearish sentiment, a significant $4.9 trillion options expiry event in U.S. stock futures and options arrived on Friday. Crypto investor Ted Pillows told X followers that historically, such events have led to downside volatility and consolidation in the stock market, which often extends to the crypto market.

Order Book Liquidity Shifts

Further supporting the outlook for lower levels, exchange order-book liquidity shows a concentration of bids below current prices, creating what some analysts describe as a “magnet” for Bitcoin. Trading resource TheKingfisher highlighted the area between $110,000 and $113,000 as particularly attractive for liquidity.

Onchain analytics platform Glassnode corroborated these shifts, noting changes in order-book composition following Wednesday’s Federal Reserve meeting. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) announced its first interest rate cut for 2025, which spurred new all-time highs for gold and U.S. stock markets, but also impacted Bitcoin’s liquidity structure.

Glassnode summarized that “post FOMC, we can see that $BTC shorts at 117k were taken out, and long liquidations are appearing at 112.7k.” This indicates potential cascading effects if prices move towards those liquidation levels.

Outlook

As Bitcoin navigates the confluence of a major options expiry, technical resistance, and shifting market liquidity, the immediate outlook suggests continued vigilance for potential downward price movements towards the $110,000 to $113,000 range.