Tom Essaye Flags Major Bitcoin Breakdown as Long-Term Holders Exit

Bitcoin’s latest slide may be signaling more trouble ahead, with several key technical and behavioral indicators turning sharply negative, according to Tom Essaye, founder and president of Sevens Report Research.

Essaye said one of the earliest warning signs emerged in October, when Bitcoin’s powerful rally wasn’t confirmed by momentum indicators. “As Bitcoin pushed higher, the relative strength index failed to rise with it, and that divergence continued to point to further downside,” he noted.

The more decisive signal came this week when Bitcoin broke below critical support at $106,000, a level closely watched by both institutional and retail investors. The breakdown unleashed a wave of selling that Essaye described as unusually intense.

“This wasn’t driven by short-term traders — this was long-term investors exiting the market,” he said. The surge in selling volume reflects that shift: Bitcoin’s latest 4.4% decline occurred on some of the highest turnover of the second half of 2025, a trend Essaye warns has persisted across multiple down days.

The combination of momentum deterioration, major support failure, and heavy long-term holder distribution suggests that pressure may continue to build if prices fall further.