Bitcoin has failed to break above $87,000 three times since September 23.
US spot Bitcoin ETFs drew about $2.65 billion in net inflows in September.
A break below $82,000 would weaken the recent bullish structure materially.
Bitcoin slid back towards $85,000 on Tuesday after another attempt to break above $87,000 failed, leaving traders caught between a still-supportive recovery and increasingly stubborn resistance.
BTC was trading around $85,500 to $85,600 on October 6 after sellers rejected $87,000 for the third time since September 23.
The pullback is still modest, but repeated failures at the same level suggest buyers are struggling to turn softer jobs data and ETF demand into another breakout.
Bitcoin keeps failing at $87K despite a better macro backdrop
Bitcoin has benefited from weaker US employment data, which reduced expectations of another near-term Federal Reserve increase. Yet that tailwind has still failed to push BTC decisively through $87,000.
The 10-year Treasury yield remained around 5.3%, close to levels last seen in 2002, while the dollar stayed firm. That means Bitcoin is still competing with unusually attractive risk-free yields even as rate-hike odds ease.
“The bulls have been unable to gain momentum,” FxPro analyst Alex Kuptsikevich told CoinDesk. He said Bitcoin is nearing the apex of a triangle formed by horizontal resistance and rising support, raising the prospect of a sharper move once that structure breaks.
That makes $87,000 a supply zone where buyers have repeatedly failed to overwhelm sellers. Until that changes, each rejection increases the importance of the support levels underneath.