Bitcoin Breakout Is A Trap—Analyst Predicts Pain Before $160,000

Bitcoin may be breaking out—but don’t celebrate yet. Crypto analyst Cristian Chifoi warns that the current move is a deceptive setup likely to trap bullish traders before Bitcoin eventually surges toward $160,000. In his latest YouTube video titled “Bitcoin is breaking out! But why is it bad?”, Chifoi dismantles the optimism surrounding Bitcoin’s recent price action, arguing that this rally is not the start of a true bull run, but a temporary fakeout designed to mislead.

Don’t Trust The Bitcoin Pump

“From a technical standpoint, this could mean a real breakout, retest, and then continuation,” Chifoi admits. “But in my opinion, this is a false breakout which can get to a new shallow all-time high, maybe $113,000, maybe $120,000 until something like July 10 to 12—then we come back in this channel before July 20.” His thesis hinges on Bitcoin seasonality, a pattern he has explored in earlier videos, which suggests the real macro pivot will only arrive later in the month. “I’m more bullish from July 20 into the start of September,” he says.

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Chifoi argues that retail traders are likely to pile in during the breakout retest phase, only to be shaken out as market makers use the liquidity to reverse the trend. “The majority of retail traders would go long here on a retest. The market makers will get their money,” he warns, predicting a trap that could drag Bitcoin down to levels near $97,000 before the real uptrend resumes.

His analysis extends beyond simple technicals. Chifoi points to macroeconomic sentiment and Fed policy as crucial context, particularly emphasizing that rate cuts would actually be a bearish signal—not bullish as commonly believed. “Rate cuts this year would not be bullish at all,” he insists. “It’s not Powell who decides, it’s the bond market who decides when the rate cuts should come… and when that is happening, it’s because they need to panic cut.”

Chifoi stresses that the best-case scenario for bulls is actually no rate cuts, at least for now. “Just keep the rates at 4.5% maybe until year end. If this happens, I’m 100% sure that the market will go higher and higher before this starts to happen.”

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Beyond Bitcoin, Chifoi forecasts a synchronized move across the broader crypto market once the July 20 pivot takes place. He highlights Ethereum, XRP, DeFi tokens like CRV, and ISO-compliant coins such as IOTA, ADA, and Quant as potential beneficiaries. “Bitcoin would drag all the crypto space with it,” he says, adding that older players like Filecoin and Polkadot could also catch a bid.

Mid-Term Price Target

Looking further ahead, Chifoi describes the coming period as a “stablecoin super cycle,” with DeFi projects and yield-generating protocols positioned to gain the most from Wall Street’s hunger for yield. “In crypto, only DeFi projects get you yields,” he explains. “Wall Street is boiling up for yields.”

He also reaffirms his macro thesis that the current financial system is on track to be replaced, likening the transition to the 1930s move from gold to fiat. “After 100 years of this exact system, this should be replaced by another system with liquidity in it,” he says, envisioning a cryptographic banking future.

Despite the short-term turbulence he expects, Chifoi remains long-term bullish. His price target of $160,000 for Bitcoin by early September reflects a belief in accelerated expansion—fueled by seasonality, delayed policy pivots, and broader adoption.

In closing, Chifoi reminds his audience to zoom out and trust the high time frame signals. Referencing Bollinger Bands on the two-month chart, he notes the beginning of another expansion phase similar to late 2020. “After that, the bear market begins,” he cautions. But until then, the ride could be fast—and extremely volatile.

“The next time we cut [rates], it is a big deal and something is wrong,” he concludes. “For now, we just want the cuts going higher for longer.”

At press time, BTC traded at $108,848.

Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com