Bitcoin (BTC) approached $90,000 into the first Wall Street open of 2026 with a new CME futures gap in focus.
Key points:
Bitcoin attempts a breakthrough at $90,000 as markets brace for the first US trading session of the year.
A new CME futures gap and long liquidations provide grounds for a BTC price dip.
Gold bounces back after a correction from all-time highs ends on New Year’s Eve.
Bitcoin CME gap sets stage for “messy” week
Data from TradingView showed a BTC price breakout attempt gathering momentum during the Asia trading session.
BTC/USD one-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView
As TradFi markets returned, Bitcoin produced a new “gap” to the downside on CME Group’s futures market, providing a potential near-term target.
“Good one to keep an eye on in the week ahead,” trading account Daan Crypto Trades commented on X.
“Obviously it’s also almost weekend so we might be getting a few gaps and a bit of a messy chart to start the year off.” CME Bitcoin futures 15-minute chart. Source: Daan Crypto Trades/X
As Cointelegraph reported, price tends to rise or fall to “fill” newly formed gaps within days or even hours of futures reopening.
Amid new January highs, trading platform TheKingfisher warned that prices may dip to take out late BTC long positions around $88,000.
A long liquidation cluster in building up on the $BTC high leverage liquidation map
If your liq price falls around 88k, we’d suggest adjusting your leverage/position
There’s a high likelihood you’ll get picked up 🎣 pic.twitter.com/WwbDRhWlkM
— TheKingfisher (@kingfisher_btc) January 2, 2026
Data from monitoring resource CoinGlass showed liquidity on either side of the price building into the Wall Street open.
Cross-crypto liquidations for the 24 hours to the time of writing totaled more than $200 million as markets edged higher.
BTC liquidation heatmap. Source: CoinGlass
Gold creeps higher after new year cool-down
After dipping to end the year, gold rebounded to push toward a rematch with all-time highs on the day.
Related: Bitcoin RSI demands breakout as exec says ‘RIP’ to 4-year BTC price cycle
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