Technical analysis by ScottMelker about Symbol BTC: Buy recommendation (12/22/2025)

Bitcoin is at an inflection point, and the structure can reasonably be read two ways: either as a bear flag within a broader correction, or as an ascending channel that resolves higher. The distinction will be decided by what happens next. After the sharp selloff from the highs, price has carved out a rising channel with higher lows and modest higher highs. On its own, that’s constructive behavior – it shows buyers stepping in progressively earlier after a waterfall move. However, context matters. This channel is forming below a dominant, downward-sloping trendline from the highs and beneath the declining 50-day moving average, which keeps bearish pressure overhead. From a bearish perspective, this looks like a classic bear flag: impulsive downside, followed by an orderly, low-momentum grind higher. Volume has contracted during the consolidation, which is typical of continuation patterns. If price breaks down from the lower boundary of the channel, especially with expansion in volume, that would favor continuation lower and validate the bear flag interpretation. From a bullish perspective, the fact that Bitcoin has not retraced deeply, has held higher lows, and is respecting the channel suggests absorption rather than distribution. If price can break above the upper channel resistance and reclaim the falling trendline, the structure shifts meaningfully. That would turn this from a corrective pattern into a base, opening the door to a move back toward the 50-day and potentially the 200-day moving average. In short, this is a decision zone. As long as Bitcoin remains trapped inside the rising channel and below the trendline, the burden of proof stays on the bulls. A downside break favors the bear flag. A clean upside breakout, especially on volume, flips the script and argues that this consolidation is a launching pad rather than a pause before continuation lower.