Bitcoin’s push to reclaim the $80,000 area is running into a familiar problem: overhead liquidity. New on-chain research from Glassnode suggests that the path higher is likely to be tested by long-term holders and fresh sell-side supply clustered between roughly $81,000 and $86,000.

While bulls may want $80,000 to act as support, Glassnode’s latest The Week Onchain analysis argues that the more difficult hurdle may arrive closer to $83,000—where long-term holders who bought through a prior drawdown could face an incentive to sell near breakeven.

Key takeaways

• Glassnode identifies a dense long-term holder supply band between $83,000 and $86,000 that has persisted through a full drawdown cycle.
• Additional “ask” liquidity has reappeared on exchange order books in the same broader zone, potentially limiting upside momentum.
• Glassnode says multiple tracked overhead structures now overlap, placing recovery demand and selling pressure in the $81,000–$86,000 range.
• On the chart, several widely watched moving-average levels cluster around the current price area, reinforcing $80,000 as a resistance test.

Glassnode points to long-term holder supply under $86,000

In its latest edition of The Week Onchain, Glassnode flagged multiple pools of BTC that could be released back into the market if Bitcoin rises toward $86,000. The most notable segment is long-term holder (LTH) supply—coins held without selling for at least six months.

Glassnode’s analysis emphasizes that the first heavy supply structure sits in the $83,000–$86,000 region and is “effectively all” long-term holder supply that survived the prior drawdown. The key implication: if price reaches that band, it may test whether LTHs remain willing to hold rather than sell at or near breakeven.

“Above, the first heavy structure is $83K-86K…,” Glassnode wrote, describing how $83,000 would pressure the resolve of the LTH cohort not to sell at breakeven.

Exchange asks and “overhead shelves” reinforce the same resistance band

Beyond on-chain holder behavior, Glassnode also pointed to new sell-side liquidity appearing on exchange order books. According to the report, these re-laddered asks may not be intended to execute immediately; instead, their owners could be aiming to keep orders positioned above spot price should Bitcoin push higher.

Glassnode framed this as part of a broader stack of overlapping supply structures rather than a single isolated wall. It cited several elements across price ranges, including a “self-custody cost-basis shelf” starting around $80.8K, dealer-related “gamma” flipping negative near $82.3K, and a liquidation shelf extending to $86K. It also referenced a “patient-supply wall” filling the $83K–$86K area.

Most importantly for traders, Glassnode summarized that every overhead structure it tracks currently sits between $81,000 and $86,000—describing the band as where demand for recovery meets a concentrated test.

“Every overhead structure we track now sits between $81K and $86K; that band is where the recovery’s demand meets its test.”

Price action: multiple trend indicators converge near $80,000

On top of the on-chain supply picture, Glassnode’s discussion aligns with chart-level constraints around $80,000. The area has seen multiple trend lines converge, strengthening its role as a resistance hurdle.

According to TradingView data referenced in the article, Bitcoin’s 50-week and 100-week exponential moving averages (EMAs) currently sit at $77,353 and $78,485, respectively. The same dataset places Bitcoin’s 365-day volume-weighted average price (VWAP) around $82,600—another figure that sits relatively close to today’s decision zone.

That clustering matters because it can compress the market’s “decision space.” If price trades within or near multiple major averages while overhead liquidity remains intact, upside attempts can repeatedly meet sellers—particularly when they overlap with historical supply bands.

Why this matters for bulls: $80,000 may not be the final hurdle

Earlier reporting from Cointelegraph highlighted market skepticism about whether Bitcoin’s rebound would last, and noted calls for patience before declaring a durable trend shift. In particular, trader and analyst Rekt Capital stressed that Bitcoin needs to hold the 50-week EMA for longer before a meaningful change can be considered, with expectations for bearish market timing to continue until the end of 2026.

Read alongside Glassnode’s findings, that framing suggests bulls may need more than a single reclaim of $80,000. If the $81,000–$86,000 band truly concentrates both long-term holder supply and exchange ask liquidity, then any breakout may require sustained buyer demand to absorb supply—especially as price approaches the $83,000–$86,000 segment.

There’s also a timing asymmetry to consider. Once liquidity is already sitting overhead—particularly from long-term holders and re-laddered sell orders—upside can stall quickly if buyers fail to step in before the market reaches the highest-concentration area.

For readers watching the next phase, the key is whether Bitcoin can progress through the $81,000–$86,000 corridor without triggering a meaningful sell response from long-term holders and order-book liquidity. Until that’s clearer, $80,000 may remain less a floor than a gateway—one that leads into a narrower, harder test farther up.

Bitcoin (BTC) has struggled to flip $80,000 into support in recent days, but bulls’ real challenge is still to come, new research says.

Key points:

• Bitcoin long-term holders add to BTC price resistance below $86,000, Glassnode reveals.
• Buyer demand must overcome this area as Bitcoin struggles to advance beyond $80,000.
• Multiple key trend lines sit around spot price, increasing the implications of an eventual loss or reclaim.

Glassnode: Key overhead liquidity structures sit between $81,000 and $86,000

In the latest edition of its regular newsletter, The Week Onchain, crypto analytics platform Glassnode flagged multiple pools of coins that could be released into the market below $86,000.

Of particular interest are long-term holders (LTHs) — wallets holding BTC without selling for at least six months. 

“Above, the first heavy structure is $83K-86K, and effectively all of it is long-term holder supply that has sat through the entire drawdown,” it wrote, predicting that reaching $83,000 would test the resolve of the LTH cohort not to sell at breakeven.

BTC supply distribution by wallet cohort. Source: Glassnode

In the same zone, new ask liquidity has appeared on exchange order books. Its owners, Glassnode notes, may not intend for their orders to be filled, instead aiming to stay above spot price should it rise further.

“The re-laddered asks join a stack of independent structure pointing at one zone. The first self-custody cost-basis shelf begins at $80.8K, dealer gamma flips negative at $82.3K, the surviving liquidation shelf runs to $86K, and the patient-supply wall fills $83K-86K,” it continued. 

“Every overhead structure we track now sits between $81K and $86K; that band is where the recovery’s demand meets its test.”

BTC spot order-book heatmap. Source: Glassnode

Trend lines converge on a narrow BTC price corridor

The area around $80,000 has also seen multiple price trend lines converge, strengthening its status as a resistance hurdle.

Related: BTC RSI bullish divergence draws 2022 comparisons as analysis weighs new price trend

Bitcoin’s 50-week and 100-week exponential moving averages (EMAs) currently sit at $77,353 and $78,485, respectively, per data from TradingView. Additionally, Bitcoin’s 365-day volume-weighted average price (VWAP), a moving average that factors in volume, sits around $82,600.

BTC/USD one-day chart with 50-week, 100-week EMA; 365-day rolling VWAP. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Previously, Cointelegraph reported on the skepticism of market participants over whether Bitcoin’s rapid rebound would endure. With regular bear market timing due to continue until the end of 2026, trader and analyst Rekt Capital stressed that price needs to hold the 50-week EMA for longer before a meaningful trend change can be considered.  

TRM Labs has appointed former Monetary Authority of Singapore official Ziqing Ang as Head of Policy for Asia-Pacific as the blockchain intelligence firm tracks more than $103 billion in adjusted crypto crime volume in 2025.

According to details shared with crypto.news, Ang will work with regulators, policymakers, law enforcement agencies and private institutions across Asia-Pacific, focusing on illicit financial networks and policy responses as governments develop rules for digital assets and artificial intelligence.

Her appointment comes as criminal groups across the region increasingly use cryptocurrency alongside new technology to run investment scams and other fraud operations. TRM tracked adjusted crypto crime volume rising from about $123 million in 2020 to more than $103 billion in 2025, while investment scams, including pig-butchering schemes, accounted for 62% of fraud inflows last year.

Generative AI has also become part of scam operations, according to TRM, which recorded a 40% increase in AI-enabled scam activity. The company has tracked uses ranging from deepfake recruitment videos to fabricated account dashboards as criminal groups incorporate the technology into operational infrastructure.

TRM Labs puts APAC policy under Ziqing Ang

With more than a decade of experience across regulation, financial markets and digital assets, Ang enters the position after working on both the government and private-sector sides of financial services.

She began her career at the Monetary Authority of Singapore, spending more than eight years across financial markets development and reserve management. During that period, Ang worked with industry and public-sector participants on initiatives involving Singapore’s capital markets and its role as an international financial center.

Her work at MAS later included managing fixed-income portfolios and contributing to macroeconomic and investment research connected with Singapore’s official foreign reserves.

After leaving the regulator, Ang joined Sygnum, which describes itself as the world’s first regulated digital asset bank, as vice president of business development. Her responsibilities there included supporting digital asset adoption among institutional and accredited investors.

Ang most recently served as chief business officer at Bright Point International Digital Assets, part of BPI Financial Group, where she led development of its over-the-counter brokerage operations. Her work covered licensing as well as the institutional infrastructure needed to support the business.

Ari Redbord, TRM Labs’ global head of policy, said Ang’s experience moving between the public and private sectors would support the company’s work with authorities and institutions in Asia-Pacific.

“This is a moment when the public and private sectors must come together to get ahead of the threats emerging in this region,” Redbord said. “Ziqing brings deep expertise and experience working across both the public and private sectors, and the credibility to bring regulators and industry together around this work.”

Hiring officials with regulatory backgrounds has also become common among digital asset companies expanding in Asia. In June, crypto.news previously reported that former TRM executive Angela Ang joined BitGo as managing director for APAC and president of BitGo Singapore after previously spending more than a decade at MAS.

Singapore tightens crypto licensing and oversight

Ang’s appointment also comes while Singapore continues to enforce its licensing rules for digital asset firms.

In May, MAS revoked Bsquared Technology’s Major Payment Institution license after identifying weaknesses in risk management, conflicts of interest and outsourcing arrangements. The regulator also found that the company had provided false or misleading information during its license application and subsequent inspection, with the Bsquared license revocation taking effect on May 14.

The regulator has separately continued using its Investor Alert List to identify companies that consumers could mistakenly view as regulated.

Bybit was added to the list in June, with MAS stating that the exchange was not licensed or regulated to provide services to users in Singapore.

Hyperliquid was also added to the list during the same month. The decentralized trading platform responded that it had never claimed to hold a Singapore license or authorization, while MAS clarified that inclusion on the list was not itself an enforcement action.

By July, Bitget had issued its own notice confirming that it did not hold a license, approval, registration or authorization from MAS and did not offer or target services to people in Singapore. The company also said Singapore remained a restricted market for its platform.

Ang said Asia-Pacific is reaching an important point in the development of rules covering both AI and digital assets.

“Asia-Pacific is at an important stage in how it regulates technology in the age of AI, and the decisions made over the next few years will shape the safety of the ecosystem,” she said.

“I’ve spent my career moving between regulators and the institutions they oversee, and I’ve seen how much good regulation and strong partnerships between the public and private sector can do.”

Crypto scam compounds remain an APAC enforcement target

TRM’s figures on investment fraud come as authorities continue pursuing scam networks operating across Southeast Asia, where pig-butchering operations have been linked to large compounds and human trafficking.

In March, the FBI and Thai police froze about $580 million in cryptocurrency and seized around 8,000 phones during a cross-border fraud operation targeting Southeast Asian pig-butchering groups accused of defrauding U.S. victims.

Authorities said organized groups operating industrial-scale compounds have used fake cryptocurrency investment platforms to obtain funds from victims. Some operations have also relied on trafficking victims who were forced to participate in online scams.

A separate investigation opened in India in July after reports that Indian nationals had been trafficked to Myanmar and forced to work inside crypto scam compounds. Police in Maharashtra registered a criminal case after the wife of a 24-year-old man said he had been taken near the Thailand-Myanmar border after accepting what he believed was a job in Bangkok.

Law enforcement cases have also documented how funds from pig-butchering schemes move through both conventional banking channels and cryptocurrency.

Chinese national Jingliang Su was sentenced to 46 months in a U.S. prison in January after pleading guilty in connection with a network that prosecutors said transferred more than $36.9 million from U.S. bank accounts before converting funds into USDT and sending the assets to Cambodia. Prosecutors said 174 victims had been targeted through social media, text messages and dating platforms and directed toward fake investment services that displayed fabricated profits.

Fake dashboards resembling legitimate trading platforms have also appeared in enforcement actions involving scam compounds. U.S. authorities previously seized a fraudulent website linked to an operation in Burma that displayed false deposits and fabricated investment returns while directing some victims toward malicious mobile applications.

TRM said generative AI is increasing the range of tools available to fraud networks, with deepfakes and fabricated interfaces becoming part of scam operations instead of remaining experimental uses of the technology.

TRM Labs expands its APAC compliance team

Alongside Ang’s appointment, TRM has been building out its regional policy and compliance personnel as governments develop digital asset frameworks.

The company appointed former MAS regulator Claudia Hui as Head of Compliance Advisory for APAC last month. TRM said the hire formed part of its expansion across policy, compliance and go-to-market operations in the region.

Ang said her new role would involve working directly with regulators, law enforcement agencies and industry participants as those frameworks develop.

“TRM’s focus on building a safer world is the kind of work I want to be part of, and I’m looking forward to working with regulators, law enforcement, and industry across the region to support responsible innovation,” she said.

WasabiCard is helping web3 businesses streamline global payroll by connecting stablecoin funding, fiat payouts, and card payments.

Web3 companies expand globally, their teams are increasingly distributed across countries and time zones, while corporate funds are often managed and moved on-chain in stablecoins such as USDT and USDC. As both teams and treasury operations become more global, efficiently and compliantly paying a distributed workforce is becoming an increasingly important consideration for web3 businesses looking to scale.

Traditional cross-border payroll often relies on banking networks and multiple intermediaries, involving different currencies, payment rails, and settlement processes. At the same time, simply transferring stablecoins to an employee’s wallet does not fully address how those funds can be converted into local currency, received in a personal bank account, and used for everyday expenses.

For global web3 businesses, the challenge is therefore no longer simply how to send stablecoins. It is how to connect on-chain funds with global fiat payment networks so employees can receive and use their salaries efficiently and compliantly.

Web3 payroll goes beyond stablecoin transfers

Stablecoins provide a new payment rail for global payroll. With 24/7 availability and faster settlement, they can reduce reliance on some of the intermediaries involved in traditional cross-border payments and improve the efficiency of distributing funds to teams across markets and time zones.

However, stablecoins are not simply a replacement for fiat payroll. Requirements around wage payment methods, employment, and taxation vary across jurisdictions, while employees ultimately need their salaries for rent, everyday spending, savings, and other real-world needs.

Scalable web3 payroll therefore requires infrastructure that connects stablecoins, fiat currencies, bank accounts, and card payment networks, with compliance and risk controls embedded throughout the payment flow.

WasabiCard: Building the rails from stablecoins to local fiats

To address the payroll needs of globally distributed web3 businesses, WasabiCard is working with regulated partners to bring stablecoin funding, global fiat payout rails, bank account payouts, and card payment capabilities into a unified payment infrastructure. The goal is to support the journey from stablecoin funding and batch payroll distribution to how employees ultimately receive and use their funds, where available and subject to applicable licensing, partner availability, jurisdictional restrictions, and product terms.

1. Aligning payroll with web3 treasury

Web3 businesses can use stablecoins such as USDT and USDC as a funding source for payroll and distribute funds to global teams through WasabiCard.

According to a 2026 industry analysis by international labor and employment law firm Ogletree Deakins, traditional international payroll can incur fees of 3%–8% and take days to process. Stablecoins, by comparison, can provide a faster and more cost-efficient way to move payroll funds across borders. Their 24/7 availability also makes them well suited to Web3 businesses operating across countries and time zones.

For companies already managing treasury in stablecoins, this creates a payroll model that is more closely aligned with how their funds are held and moved.

2. Global coverage across 200+ countries and regions

Stablecoin-funded payroll does not mean employees have to hold their salaries in digital assets.

WasabiCard’s payment capabilities cover 200+ countries and regions and support 30+ fiat currencies. Businesses can use USDT, USDC, and other supported stablecoins as a funding source for payroll, while employees can, subject to availability and through regulated banking partners, receive funds in supported local currencies directly into bank accounts held in their own names.

Beyond bank account payouts, employees can also access their funds through WasabiCard virtual or physical cards for online and in-store spending, as well as ATM withdrawals, giving them greater flexibility in how they use their salaries.

By connecting stablecoins with global fiat networks, bank accounts, and card payment rails, WasabiCard enables businesses to fund and distribute global payroll with stablecoins while giving employees the flexibility to receive and use their salaries through familiar local payment channels.

3. Scaling global payroll with batch payouts

As web3 teams grow from a handful of employees to hundreds of people across multiple markets, processing individual transfers becomes increasingly difficult to manage.

Through a unified API, batch payouts, and transaction management capabilities, WasabiCard enables businesses to manage payroll across multiple countries, currencies, and recipients without building and maintaining separate payout integrations for each market.

For web3 businesses and payroll platforms, global payroll can therefore be managed as a unified fund distribution operation rather than a collection of individual cross-border transfers.

4. Embedding compliance across the payment flow

Efficiency alone is not enough to scale web3 payroll globally. Compliance is equally important.

WasabiCard integrates KYB, KYC, KYT, and AML controls across key stages of the payment flow, including business onboarding, user verification, fund movement, and transaction execution, supporting appropriate verification and monitoring of businesses, recipients, and transactions.

By bringing compliance controls together with stablecoin payments and global payout capabilities, WasabiCard helps Web3 businesses manage the compliance requirements associated with cross-border payroll while improving the efficiency of global fund distribution.

Borderless Teams need borderless payroll

Web3 businesses are global by nature. As their teams continue to scale, payroll is evolving beyond simple on-chain transfers toward payment infrastructure that connects digital assets with the financial systems employees use every day.

Stablecoins make it possible to move funds efficiently across borders. Global payment infrastructure makes those funds accessible and usable by employees around the world.

By connecting stablecoins, fiat currencies, bank accounts, and card payment networks, WasabiCard is helping bridge on-chain treasury with real-world financial access, providing web3 businesses with a more efficient, flexible, compliant, and scalable infrastructure for global payroll.

About WasabiCard

WasabiCard is a global payment infrastructure platform enabling enterprises, fintechs, and internet-native businesses to issue cards, distribute payouts, and manage cross-border payments through stablecoin-powered financial infrastructure. Its platform supports global card issuing, multi-currency settlement, stablecoin funding, and embedded payment capabilities designed for modern global commerce. WasabiCard powers payment use cases across media buying, SaaS subscriptions, global payroll, treasury management, and digital financial applications.

Follow WasabiCard on X and LinkedIn for the latest updates on product developments, partnerships, and insights into the future of stablecoin-powered payments.

The event produced several eye-catching moments, including when humanoids beat human records at the high jump and the 400m. Just a few days before Ultra’s race, Lightning, a robot developed by phone company Honor, ran the 100m in 9.39 seconds, again thundering home quicker than Bolt.

But these tumbling records will likely be, in the pop cultural consciousness, eclipsed by something far more entertaining: tumbling robots. Along with the epic wins, there have been some seriously old-school, epic fails. One humanoid at the weightlifting event lost its balance with a weedy 15kg barbell, started jerking and slammed into the judges’ table, its helpless arms aloft, as if to say, “Why me?” Most memorably, a robot ended his dash by careering into a safety mat, Tom and Jerry style, before cartoonishly arching backward and setting on fire. Each spark was like a beautiful firework.

These slapstick scenes are deliciously satisfying. It’s deeply reassuring to watch robots fizzle out into smithereens. I myself have fond memories of watching the fire-hazard creations on Robot Wars in the U.K. (the successor to BattleBots in the U.S.) get shredded into shrapnel. This time, it’s a reassuring reminder that we can beat robot replicants at our own games. 

South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb has reportedly secured its first-instance court wins in two of four lawsuits aimed at recovering money from users who sold Bitcoin that was mistakenly credited to their accounts. The decisions, handed down by the Seoul Central District Court, mark another step in the exchange’s attempt to unwind a high-profile accounting error from February 2026.

According to a report by Chosun Biz, the court ruled in favor of Bithumb on Wednesday and Thursday in two separate cases. One decision covered a claim of 5 million won (about $3,600), while the other involved 194 million won (about $140,000). Two additional lawsuits—seeking roughly 14.8 million won (about $10,700) and 500 million won (about $362,000)—remain pending.

Key takeaways

• Bithumb won first-instance rulings in two lawsuits over alleged unjust enrichment tied to mistakenly credited Bitcoin balances.
• The court decisions relate to claims of 5 million won and 194 million won, while two other cases are still before the courts.
• Both cases reportedly proceeded through service by public notice because the exchange could not deliver documents to defendants via standard methods.
• The rulings support Bithumb’s broader recovery effort following its Feb. 6 promotional error involving 620,000 BTC.
• Separately, South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) has begun sanctions-related steps over the incident, though no final penalty has been announced.

Court wins follow Bithumb’s February crediting mistake

The dispute traces back to Bithumb’s February 6, 2026 promotional event, when the exchange intended to distribute rewards denominated in Korean won to a group of users. Cointelegraph previously reported that Bithumb confirmed the error after abnormal Bitcoin trades emerged following the promotion. The company said an employee mistakenly selected Bitcoin as the payment unit instead of Korean won, and credited customer accounts with 620,000 BTC.

At the time of the incident, the mistakenly credited Bitcoin was valued at more than $40 billion, according to the earlier reporting. Even though the amount was enormous on paper, Bithumb took steps to stop the fallout from spreading. Cointelegraph reported that Bithumb later stated it recovered 618,212 BTC (about 99.7% of the erroneously credited amount). However, some users had already converted part of the credited balances by selling 1,788 BTC before Bithumb froze the impacted accounts.

What the lawsuits are trying to recover

Rather than focusing exclusively on returning Bitcoin, the lawsuits reportedly sought cash proceeds derived from users’ sales of the credited funds. In March, Bithumb filed four unjust enrichment lawsuits against users who sold the mistakenly credited Bitcoin and did not return the proceeds, according to the earlier Cointelegraph coverage.

Chosun Biz’s latest report indicates that two cases have now reached first-instance outcomes favorable to Bithumb. The decisions cover different amounts—5 million won and 194 million won—suggesting the court is addressing specific user-by-user claims rather than issuing a single consolidated ruling for the entire promotional error.

The court also reportedly handled notice service via public notice in both cases. This occurred because standard methods for delivering documents were unsuccessful, meaning the procedural pathway relied on court-permitted service when defendants could not be reached through ordinary delivery attempts.

Bigger pressure on Bithumb from regulators

While the civil litigation moves through the courts, the exchange has also faced scrutiny from South Korea’s financial regulator. Cointelegraph previously reported that the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) investigated Bithumb over the February 6 incident—specifically how the exchange could end up crediting customers with Bitcoin it did not hold.

In that earlier coverage, it was reported that the FSS sent Bithumb an inspection opinion in early August, formally triggering sanctions proceedings. However, as of the time Cointelegraph reached out for an update, there was no announced final penalty. Cointelegraph said it approached the Financial Services Commission (FSC) for additional information but did not receive a response by publication.

The combination of civil court actions and the regulator’s sanctions track is notable for investors and users because it underscores how operational mistakes in crypto market infrastructure can escalate into both contractual/legal disputes and formal oversight measures. Even if Bithumb ultimately recovers most of the misplaced assets, authorities can still assess whether internal controls, monitoring systems, and payment/crediting processes were adequate.

Other legal and compliance challenges add complexity

The Bitcoin crediting error is not the only legal pressure Bithumb has encountered this year. Cointelegraph reported that South Korean police raided Bithumb’s offices in June as part of an unrelated investigation into alleged hiring favoritism involving lawmaker Kim Byung-ki. In addition, Bithumb has been challenging a separate six-month partial business suspension tied to Anti-Money Laundering violations, with a Seoul court temporarily blocking the suspension order in April pending a decision on Bithumb’s challenge.

Against that backdrop, the outcome of the user recovery lawsuits may influence how Bithumb manages risk and customer-facing processes going forward. A pattern of first-instance wins could strengthen the exchange’s position in remaining pending cases, while any reversals on appeal would likely reignite uncertainty around how these errors are treated legally and practically.

Readers should watch next for what happens in the two remaining lawsuits still pending, as well as whether the FSS sanctions process concludes with a specific penalty or additional guidance. The resolution of these cases will also matter for broader market confidence in exchange internal controls, especially in a jurisdiction where regulators have shown willingness to pursue sanctions after operational failures.