Bitcoin Closes $88,000 CME Gap as it Wipes 2026 Gains

Bitcoin (BTC) found signs near $90,000 on Wednesday as BTC price action hit a key target for a rebound.

Key Points:

• Bitcoin price action falls to fill the CME futures gap created at the annual open.

• A modest bounce is not enough to convince traders that the worst is over.

• Gold hits record highs while Bitcoin gains in January

BTC Price “Not Looking Strong” After Gap Fill

Bitcoin rose 1.1 percent on the day after trading at 87,800, data from TradingView showed.

The move marked the lowest level since early January, with BTC/USD gaining more than $10,000 from a month-to-date high.

It also meant that the pair filled a “gap” in the CME Group’s bitcoin futures market from the annual open.

As QuintalGraph reports, such gaps often serve as short-term price targets, with the market returning to them within days or hours.

$BTC #Bitcoin Now closed the CME gap to 88k

We now have the top 3.
– .8 97.8k
– 3 113.4K
– 6 116.9K

Can be viewed on different time frames than displayed on the attached image. pic.twitter.com/rjopbkgj2y

— Cryptomist (@cryptomist) January 21, 2026

With the remaining gap over the spot price, traders still had mixed views on the strength of the market.

“A sharp increase is expected,” trader CW told X-Followers, adding that gap-filling is needed to ensure a “sustainable rally.”

The CME gap has been filled since January 1.

Back to square one for the year, but at least that magnet is out of the way now. $BTC pic.twitter.com/9kkufpjidd

— Gel (@cryptgelinal) January 21, 2026

Trader Jelly, meanwhile, turned sharply bearish, eyeing a resumption of the downward sloping trend line on the daily chart after the initial breakout.

“Highs are immediately followed by lows,” he summed up.

“The CME gap is closing and price is resuming the trendline again – but we can all agree that it’s not looking strong anymore.”

Bitcoin investors in “capital preservation” mode

Prior to the Wall Street Open, macro factors continued to play an important role in crypto market analysis.

Related: BTC vs New $80K ‘Liquidity Grip’: Five Things to Know in Bitcoin This Week

In its latest Asia Color Market update for the day, trading firm QCP Capital described bitcoin as “a high-beta risk asset highly sensitive to volatility in trades, rates, geopolitics and cross-markets.”

“Until clear policy signals emerge, crypto is likely to be reactive rather than directional,” he concluded.

“For now, it’s a market focused on protecting capital in the face of punishment, and watching closely to see if policy misses change today’s earthquake to something more systemic.”

Traditional hedge gold fared better, hitting a high of $4,888 an ounce at another time on the day.

“We’re all witnessing history right now,” reacted to the commercial resource Kobesi letter.