TL;DR:
- Bitcoin faces resistance above $82,000 again, though analyst Michaël van de Poppe projects a move toward $90,000 in the coming days.
- The 21-day moving average has acted as key support since early April; a break below it would confirm a medium-term correction.
- Profit-taking by short-term holders and growing leveraged short positions are pushing the market downward.
Market analyst Michaël van de Poppe published an analysis defending a short-term bullish outlook for Bitcoin, projecting that its price could reach $90,000 in the coming days. Van de Poppe’s central argument rests on the fact that BTC bounced from its 21-day moving average, a level that has functioned as solid support since early April.
Despite this bounce, BTC faces persistent resistance above $82,000, registering multiple rejections in recent days. Data from CryptoQuant shows elevated profit-taking among short-term holders, which amplifies the possibility of triggering a medium-term correction.
Bitcoin hit $82K three times.
Three times it got rejected.Same pattern every time:
STH SOPR touches 1.0
then rolls over
and price fades.Short-term holders are selling into every rally.
This is not just technical resistance.
It is behavioral supply.What breaks the trap ->… pic.twitter.com/i2cquVyZph
— Axel 💎🙌 Adler Jr (@AxelAdlerJr) May 15, 2026
At the same time, leveraged traders have increased their short positions, betting on a sell-off scenario following the approval of the Clarity Act, the federal legislative proposal in the United States aimed at regulating crypto assets.
Bitcoin Under Pressure: Between Technical Support and Bearish Bets
Van de Poppe set clear conditions for invalidating the bullish scenario: if Bitcoin closes consistently below the 21-day moving average, the correction would be confirmed. Additionally, he identified a critical liquidity range between $71,438 and $73,408, whose breakdown would eliminate short-term optimism.
The factors that could support a move toward $90,000 are equally concrete. Buyers accumulated Bitcoin aggressively throughout 2026, partially offsetting the selling pressure from short-term holders. However, for a breakout to that level to be sustainable, the market would require a combination of a sharp short squeeze and a firm renewal of demand in BTC spot ETFs traded in the United States. The absence of either element leaves open the possibility of a relapse toward deeper support zones.
According to the latest data from CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin (BTC) fell 2.84% over the last 24 hours. Its current price stands at around $79,475 per coin. Its trading volume dropped more than 5.6%, though it remains close to $40 billion in the last session.
