Bitcoin's Shooting Star Candle Pattern Signals Bearish Pressure as Price Tests Critical Support

The most recent price action in Bitcoin has left a distinct technical imprint: a shooting star candle formation at the week’s close. Trading around $88.77K currently with a 24-hour gain of 1.36%, Bitcoin faces a critical juncture where technical patterns and price levels will determine near-term direction. The shooting star candle—marked by a strong wick extending above the candle body—suggests rejection of higher prices and potentially signals sellers reasserting control.

Decoding the Shooting Star and Doji: What These Candle Patterns Tell Us

The shooting star candle pattern that formed at resistance is particularly significant because it combines two powerful bearish indicators. When the market rallies to resistance around $94,000 but then reverses sharply lower, the resulting candle structure reveals what happened during that session: buyers pushed the price higher, but sellers overwhelmed them and closed the candle significantly lower.

This is distinct from a doji candle pattern—another critical formation that indicates indecision. A doji closes near its opening price, showing that neither bulls nor bears could establish control. The shooting star, however, is more directional; it specifically represents seller rejection at higher prices.

Both candle patterns serve as warning signals in technical analysis. When either appears after an uptrend or near resistance levels, they often precede reversals. For Bitcoin’s current position, the shooting star candle suggests that the recent rally to $94,000 has exhausted itself, and the momentum that pushed price higher has dissipated. Bears are now positioned to test lower levels.

Critical Support and Resistance: Where the Real Battle Unfolds

The price structure now presents a clear technical landscape. Currently hovering near $88.77K, Bitcoin sits between two major zones that will determine the coming week’s direction.

Immediate Support Levels:

• $87,000: The first line of defense. If bears push below here, the psychological and technical barrier holding bulls’ positions weakens considerably.
• $84,000: Strong support, but vulnerable if $87,000 fails. A breakdown here would suggest aggressive selling and could accelerate losses toward the $70,000-$72,000 zone.
• $68,000: The critical floor. Bitcoin would need to close below $68,000 to lose this major support level and open the door to the $58,000 area, where the 0.618 Fibonacci retracement offers potential relief.

Resistance Levels Above Current Price:

• $91,400: Near-term resistance that bears will defend to prevent a quick recovery.
• $94,000: The level that has proven to be a formidable obstacle. Multiple rejections here demonstrate its strength, though sustained pressure could eventually break it.
• $98,000-$103,500: A significant resistance zone where bulls would need to establish conviction to break through.
• $106,000-$109,000: Contains the 0.618 Fibonacci retracement level from the previous downtrend, representing major overhead resistance.

Two Scenarios: What Unfolds in the Coming Week

The technical setup creates two distinct possible paths forward.

The Bearish Scenario: If bears maintain control, expect the price to test the $87,000 support early in the week. Sellers may attempt to break this level entirely, creating conditions for a run down to $84,000 or lower. The failure of multiple daily closes above $87,000 would signal weakening bull defense. Once $84,000 fails—and this is the critical threshold—acceleration downward becomes likely, with the $70,000 zone becoming the next target. This scenario gains credibility given the recent shooting star candle and the lack of buying enthusiasm to sustain the $94,000 rally.

The Bullish Scenario: Bulls need convincing evidence they can maintain control. A daily close above $87,000 without immediately breaking lower would suggest they’re holding their positions. More importantly, bulls require a push back above $94,000 with conviction—closing above this level rather than just touching it—to signal that the shooting star candle was merely a temporary setback. Above $94,000, the bulls could target the $98,000-$103,500 zone and eventually test $106,000-$109,000.

Market Sentiment and the Neutral Zone Reality

Currently, Bitcoin exists in what traders call the “neutral zone”—the range between $84,000 and $94,000. Within this band, neither bulls nor bears have established dominance. The shooting star candle and doji patterns suggest momentum is transitioning from bulls to bears, but the battle remains unresolved.

Market Mood: Bearish Bias The weight of recent price action tilts advantage toward sellers. The shooting star candle formation specifically indicates sellers rejecting higher prices, and the inability of bulls to hold momentum above $94,000 suggests they’re fatigued. Heading into this week, bears hold the advantage—not an overwhelming advantage, but sufficient to suggest the downside targets are more likely than upside breakouts.

Price Action Over the Next Few Weeks If the current trading range persists, expect volatility to remain elevated and price to oscillate between the critical levels. The market may remain choppy and range-bound until one side breaks through. The probability leans toward a test of the $87,000-$84,000 zone before any meaningful upside break occurs, given the technical signals. However, a sudden influx of buying volume could quickly flip this bias and propel price back toward the $94,000 resistance and beyond.

The shooting star candle pattern has marked its message: sellers are present at these heights. Whether they can sustain pressure or bulls regain footing will determine Bitcoin’s path through the remainder of January and into February.