Bitcoin drops under $83K as liquidity hunting keeps bulls from targeting yearly open

Bitcoin (BTC) fell to weekly lows on Monday as upside momentum gave way to liquidity hunting on exchange order books.Key points:Bitcoin reversed downward after over $30 million in ask liquidity was added to exchange order books at around $85,700.Crypto and US stock-market futures dropped after US president Donald Trump refused to rule out further strikes on Iran.Analysis by markets commentator Aksel Kibar warned that Bitcoin risked returning to its sub-$80,000 range.Liquidity manipulation halts BTC price upsideData from TradingView showed BTC/USD dropping below $82,700 for the first time since Sept. 21.BTC/USD four-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingViewAfter posting its highest weekly close since late January at around $84,450, the pair failed to mount another test of its eight-month highs above $87,000 seen last week. Instead, a large patch of ask liquidity appeared, with over $30 million clustered around $85,700. Sudden, conspicuous liquidity at a price level often signals a calculated attempt by large traders to influence price direction. BTC liquidation heatmap. Source: CoinGlassData from CoinGlass showed the drop liquidating nearby long positions, totaling around $70 mi...