Bitcoin

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Bitcoin (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">BTC</a>) dipped below $90,000 Thursday as market participants see a classic short-term target coming next.
Key points:
<ul>
 <li>Bitcoin dices with the 21-day moving average trendline as it fills open gaps in CME futures markets.</li>
 <li>One gap remaining could see the price return to $88,000 next.</li>
 <li>Some analysts argue that if the market reverses higher without filling it, the $88,000 gap could later be interpreted as a cycle low — a view based on technical patterns rather than macro fundamentals.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="br-bitcoin-price-gives-up-90-000"> Bitcoin price gives up $90,000</h2>
Data from <a href="https://www.tradingview.com/symbols/BTCUSD/?exchange=BITSTAMP" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">TradingView</a> showed new local lows of $89,530 on Bitstamp during the Asia trading session.
<figure>
 <img alt="Bitcoin price may bottom at $88K next cycle if last CME gap stays open" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2026-01/019b9cfa-b104-70a6-83ef-cf0d3ac1d454.png" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 BTC/USD one-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView
 </figcaption>
</figure>
 Bitcoin stayed in step with gold as both assets cooled their <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-faces-big-boy-sell-wall-95k-btc-price-struggles-gold" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_self">new-year rebound</a>, which received a push courtesy of geopolitical tensions around Venezuela.
“Important day on $BTC,” crypto trader, analyst and entrepreneur Michaël van de Poppe wrote in his <a href="https://x.com/CryptoMichNL/status/2009188331809026525" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">latest analysis</a> on X.&nbsp;
Van de Poppe reported a retest of the 21-day moving average (MA) at $88,900.
“It's hit the 21-Day MA and briefly dipped beneath this level,” he continued.&nbsp;
<blockquote>
 “That's not bad, it can take liquidity, although I'd favor Bitcoin to hold this level.”
</blockquote>
<figure>
 <img alt="Bitcoin price may bottom at $88K next cycle if last CME gap stays open" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2026-01/019b9cf6-a370-78b7-8915-e92f85912085.png" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 BTC/USD one-day chart with RSI, volume data. Source: Michaël van de Poppe/X
 </figcaption>
</figure>
 Exchange order-book liquidity led trader Daan Crypto Trades to flag $89,000 and $92,000 as lines in the sand.
“As price is back in the middle of its larger range I wouldn't be surprised to see it chop around this region until the end of the week,” he <a href="https://x.com/DaanCrypto/status/2009180385289335109" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">said</a>.
<figure>
 <img alt="Bitcoin price may bottom at $88K next cycle if last CME gap stays open" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2026-01/019b9cf6-38ae-7646-9f93-2462ea2ba5d8.png" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 BTC/USDT liquidation map (Binance). Source: Daan Crypto Trades/X
 </figcaption>
</figure>
<h2 id="bitcoin-futures-gaps-one-down-one-to-go">Bitcoin futures gaps: One down, one to go</h2>
An important focus on low timeframes was the fate of the open “gap” on CME Group’s Bitcoin futures market.
Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-not-likely-new-all-time-high-in-2026-new-research" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_self">Bitcoin ‘not likely’ to make new all-time high in 2026, new&nbsp;research says</a>
Formed over the new year period, the gaps <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/explained/what-bitcoin-cme-gaps-are-and-how-they-influence-price-movements" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_self">often dictate</a> short-term BTC price targets, with BTC/USD “filling” one of them with the latest move lower.
“Are we heading for a deeper move to fill the next CME gap around $88K?” crypto education resource Coin Bureau queried in an <a href="https://x.com/coinbureau/status/2009159523286831479" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">X reaction</a>.&nbsp;
Filling the second gap would take the price back near $88,200.
<figure>
 <img alt="Bitcoin price may bottom at $88K next cycle if last CME gap stays open" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2026-01/019b9cf4-d9c6-7a91-8987-fc705b66d5db.png" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 CME Bitcoin futures one-hour chart. Source: Coin Bureau/X
 </figcaption>
</figure>
 Commenting, pseudonymous analyst CW, a contributor to onchain analytics platform CryptoQuant, <a href="https://x.com/CW8900/status/2008787080655368582" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">called</a> the outstanding gap a "potential risk.”
“For a stable upward trend, it's best to eliminate this risk and then start the rally,” he <a href="https://x.com/CW8900/status/2008787080655368582" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">told</a> X followers Wednesday.&nbsp;
<blockquote>
 “However, if this gap isn't filled, it means the bottom of the next cycle will likely be near this point.”
</blockquote>

Bitcoin price may bottom at $88K next cycle if last CME gap stays open

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