Open Water Bitcoin
Happy Bitcoin Friday! — May 23, 2025
Open Water Bitcoin
New all-time high.
Bitcoin has once again entered uncharted waters. We're in "Open Water Bitcoin" territory—no landmarks, no familiar signals—just raw momentum as price discovery unfolds near $110,000. This week alone, we saw wild movement, with BTC briefly pushing above $112,000 on several exchanges.
But remember: price is just a number.
All-time highs are exciting, but they can also be exhausting. When Bitcoin rips into new territory, volatility ramps up. Emotional highs and lows follow price action, and the temptation to check charts constantly can become overwhelming.
Historically, these phases bring sharp moves in both directions. Don’t be surprised if we revisit psychological levels like $100,000 or even $90,000. For this cycle, $75,000 has shown strength as a key support—it served as the bounce point during April’s correction and may act as a foundation again if the waters get choppy.
But even amid the chaos of price discovery, there’s a strange calm beneath the surface. As bitcoin hovered above $100,000 this past week, many headlines went quiet. The frenzy faded. And in that moment, something surprising happened: bitcoin got kind of boring. Or did it? That’s the idea I explored in last week’s post, Bitcoin Boring at $100K?
🧭 What Price Discovery Really Means
Price discovery is the phase where markets try to find out what something is truly worth—without historical anchors.
There’s no technical resistance above the previous all-time high, which means price moves can be explosive… and confusing.
This is where narratives matter more than charts.
Are institutions adding exposure? Are sovereign buyers stepping in? Are long-time holders finally taking profits?
These questions matter far more than whether we’re at $111,500 or $109,200. And the answer to most of those questions is typically yes but without us knowing to what degree. Bitcoin adoption is increasing.
In open water, the compass is conviction.
🌊 How to Navigate the Noise
If you’ve been here before, you know the drill. If you’re new, here are some reminders:
Zoom out. Short-term price movement is rarely the whole story.
Revisit your strategy. Are you accumulating, holding, or taking partial profits?
Self-custody matters more than ever. With increasing attention, custodial risk is back in the spotlight.
Learn about self-custody:
Whether you’re watching from the sidelines or riding the wave, remember that Bitcoin thrives in chaos. These are the moments that forge conviction—and test it.
🍕 One Slice at a Time
As we sail through price discovery and flirt with six-figure territory, it’s worth remembering how far we’ve come.
Yesterday was Bitcoin Pizza Day—May 22nd, the anniversary of the first recorded purchase using bitcoin: two pizzas for 10,000 BTC. Back then, bitcoin wasn’t exciting or boring—it was barely real. It was an idea, kept alive by a handful of people willing to experiment, to believe early, and to act with conviction.
I wrote about Bitcoin Pizza Day two years ago when that 10,000 BTC order would’ve been worth $300 million. Today, it would be more than $1 billion!
Today, bitcoin trades above $110,000. It's on corporate balance sheets, being adopted by nation-states, and still—16 years later—operating without a CEO, without downtime, and without asking permission.
The waters may be open, but the mission hasn’t changed.
We’re still early. We’re still building. We’re still doing the work—one block, one lesson, one slice at a time.
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Enjoy the weekend!
I am not an investment or financial advisor. All opinions expressed are mine alone. Read the full DISCLAIMER on the About page.
HODL on Garth.