Bitcoin has fallen back below $80,000 after a short-term rebound. Some in the market say a bottom can be confirmed only if it regains $88,880 and settles there as support.

Cointelegraph reported on May 7 that bitcoin recently tried a sharp rebound, but the upward move is losing momentum near $82,000.

In this rebound, bitcoin moved back above the realised price market average of $78,200 and the short-term holder average cost basis of $79,100. On-chain analytics firm Glassnode analysed that if the price holds above these two levels, the roughly 50 percent correction from the $126,000 peak to below $60,000 on Feb. could be among the shortest correction phases in bitcoin market history.

Some analysis also put the bottom confirmation line higher, at $88,880. CryptoQuant analyst IT Tech presented $88,880, the realised price for holders over 3 to 6 months, as a key resistance level. He saw bottom confirmation as possible only if bitcoin does not merely move above that range briefly, but holds it as support after a breakout.

The market view is that if bitcoin moves above that level in a stable way, recent buyers could re-enter profit territory, easing selling pressure. Glassnode also assessed that if trading continues above $88,880, it could confirm a more sustained upside move.

Overhead resistance does not end there. Based on realised prices by age band, the average cost basis stands at $93,450 for 12 to 18-month holders and $111,850 for 6 to 12-month holders. Analyst Mikybull Crypto, based on Fibonacci analysis, cited $88,000 and $92,000 as key resistance levels that must be cleared before an upward rally.

Profit-taking by long-term holders is cited as a backdrop to the recent correction. The 14-day simple moving average of realised profit for investors holding bitcoin for more than 1 year rose to about $180 million a day after the recent rebound. Glassnode said that if the recovery continues, such distribution pressure could grow.

The scale of realised losses also remains high. Realised losses are $479 million a day, about 140 percent above the cycle baseline of $200 million a day. The market is also watching whether this metric falls steadily below $200 million a day. Glassnode explained that if this figure keeps compressing, it could be a strong signal that selling fatigue is building and a condition for confirming a more sustained recovery phase.

Past cases are also being cited. After bitcoin last regained the active realised price in October 2023, it rose 170 percent to the previous peak of $74,000 in March 2024, and gains later expanded to 365 percent to the current record high above $126,000. Against that backdrop, the market is watching whether this rebound ends as a simple relief rally or leads to a trend reversal triggered by a break above $88,880.