Bitcoin Surges Past $90K as U.S. Investors Dive Back In – Is the Tax-Season Drag Finally Over?

Bitcoin smashes through the $90,000 barrier—U.S. buyers are back, and the market's breathing fire again.

Tax-Season Hangover Fades

For months, the narrative wrote itself: American investors were selling, pressured by capital gains deadlines and regulatory uncertainty. The 'tax-drag' was real, creating a predictable sinkhole of selling pressure every spring. But that pressure valve just released. Fresh capital is flooding the order books, pushing prices to levels not seen since the last euphoric peak. The buy-side volume tells the story—this isn't just short covering; it's conviction returning.

The $90K Reclamation Project

Reclaiming a major psychological level like $90,000 does more than just look good on a chart. It triggers algorithmic trades, resets investor psychology, and forces the skeptics back to their spreadsheets. The move signals a clean breakout from the consolidation range that had trapped price action for weeks. Technicals now align with the on-chain data showing decreased exchange reserves—fewer coins available for sale, more headed to cold storage.

Wall Street's Selective Amnesia

Watch the traditional finance commentary pivot overnight. The same analysts who cited 'macro headwinds' and 'regulatory overhang' as reasons for caution will now champion 'institutional adoption' and 'digital gold' narratives—never mind that the underlying asset hasn't changed. It's a classic case of price dictating the story, not the other way around. A cynical take? Finance professionals are paid to explain price movements, not predict them.

What's Next: Sustainable Rally or Bull Trap?

The key question isn't whether the buying has returned, but why now. Has the systemic tax-related selling truly been exhausted, or is this a liquidity spike before the next leg down? The momentum is undeniable, but crypto markets have a habit of punishing the overly exuberant. For the rally to hold, it needs sustained volume and a continuation of the spot-driven buying we're seeing—not just leveraged derivatives frenzy. One thing's clear: the passive, fear-driven market of the past quarter is over. Active, aggressive capital is back in the driver's seat.

The Floor & The Flows

MicroStrategy (MSTR) likely established the local floor. The firm disclosed on Dec. 29 that it had purchased, defending the range ahead of the New Year.

Strategy has acquired 1,229 BTC for ~$108.8 million at ~$88,568 per bitcoin and has achieved BTC Yield of 23.2% YTD 2025. As of 12/28/2025, we hodl 672,497 $BTC acquired for ~$50.44 billion at ~$74,997 per bitcoin. $MSTR $STRC $STRK $STRF $STRD $STRE https://t.co/UGvjHj5WPg

Miners are front-running the risk-on shift. Hut 8 outperformed the spot market, rallying nearly 15% to $50.73.

“The crypto market opens 2026 on a balanced note, driven by renewed institutional interest, clearer regulations, faster ETF approvals by the SEC, and the GENIUS Act’s stablecoin framework, which have boosted confidence, even as most inflows remain concentrated in Bitcoin and Ethereum,” Riya Sehgal, Research Analyst at Delta Exchange, noted in an article from The Economic Times.

That dynamic flipped on Friday as U.S. spot ETFs and proxies, such as Coinbase (+3%), caught a bid.

Market Outlook

Despite the rally, prediction markets remain cautious. Polymarket bettors currently assign onlyto Bitcoin exceeding $150,000 in 2026, favoring a consolidation year.

Immediate resistance sits at the Q4 2025 breakdown level of $92,500.

The headline isn’t the price; it’s the timing. Throughout Q4 2025, U.S. liquidity was the exit liquidity—consistent selling during NY hours to harvest losses.

Friday’s price action confirms that the “tax drag” is gone. Desks should monitor the ETH/BTC ratio ($0.034); if U.S. institutions are truly risk-on, expect rotation into high-beta alts and miner equity to outpace spot BTC in the short term.