Analysts see BTC filling CME gap after drop below $90K

Bitcoin's decline below $90,000 could lead to a move to fill a gap in the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) futures market, according to market analysis. Paul Howard, a senior director at Wincent, stated that while early-month ETF inflows and Bitmine's ETH purchases drove an initial rally, the current drop below $90,000 makes a gap-fill scenario more likely, The Block reported. He described the current market as volatile and directionless, creating a favorable environment for short-term trading, and noted that January has historically been a relatively flat period for cryptocurrency prices. Vetle Lunde, head of research at K33, suggested that the ETF inflows seen earlier this month were likely the result of portfolio rebalancing rather than a recovery in market confidence. He explained that funds with fixed allocations to Bitcoin adjusted their positions after the asset underperformed stocks and other assets at the end of last year. Meanwhile, Kevin de Patoul, CEO of crypto liquidity provider Keyrock, views the recent price drop as part of a structural change rather than a trend reversal, asserting that Bitcoin's fundamentals are unchanged. He argued that rising global debt levels continue to highlight Bitcoin's value as a strategic asset, a trend that short-term volatility will not alter. De Patoul added that larger institutions are now integrating BTC into their portfolios with more capital and sophisticated risk management strategies.