[DigitalToday reporter Yoonseo Lee] Bitcoin is reaching a near-term inflection point as the chance grows that it will again test a key resistance line around $87,200.

On Oct. 5, blockchain outlet U.Today reported that the market sees $87,200 as a key price level that will determine whether the recent rebound trend continues.

The zone in focus is around $86,984, where a horizontal resistance line has formed, and the $87,200 to $87,300 range, which intraday upper wicks previously reached. The band also overlaps with an earlier local high. Some analysts flagged $87,200 as a key resistance that bitcoin bulls need to confirm.

The latest resistance test also aligns with bitcoin’s move a few days ago above $87,000 after the release of U.S. jobs data. At the time, U.S. new jobs in September rose by only 29,000 and the unemployment rate climbed to 4.2 percent. Bitcoin later held on to much of its gains below $87,000.

Price action shows the $87,000 range has repeatedly seen selling pressure. Bitcoin rose from the low $82,000s in late September to around $87,200, then fell back to around $82,700. It later rebounded again, but an attempt to regain $87,000 was quickly blocked and the price retreated to the $84,000 to $84,500 range.

Still, the recent pullback low was higher than the low on Sept. 28. That is being read as a positive short-term signal. At the same time, repeated failed breakouts have made it clear that strong resistance remains in the $87,000 to $87,200 zone. The market is increasingly viewing sustained breaks above that area as necessary for the bullish trend to continue.

Sentiment in the derivatives market is closer to a mild bullish tilt. Binance’s perpetual futures funding rate stands at 0.0072 percent, OKX at 0.0034 percent and Hyperliquid at 0.0013 percent, all in positive territory. Positive funding means long-position holders pay short holders to keep prices aligned with the spot market, indicating bullish demand remains.

Funding rates have not surged to excessive levels. With long positions not overly crowded to one side, that suggests there is room for a breakout in a relatively less crowded environment. If another breakout is blocked, the $87,000 range could still harden as a near-term ceiling.

That has clarified the near-term focal point. The question is whether bitcoin can push above and settle beyond resistance around $87,200, or leave that area as the next sideways trading range. Alongside spot price moves, changes in perpetual futures funding are emerging as a key indicator for whether the short-term trend will turn.