Crypto trading expert Michaël van de Poppe has provided short-term targets for Bitcoin (BTC) to consider as of May 22, 2026.
As Bitcoin price consolidates at about $76,000, after its recent rejection around $82,000, Poppe stated that the support level above $75,000 must hold to validate its near-term bull rally. Furthermore, Poppe highlighted that BTC price has consistently closed above its 20-day Moving Average (MA), which has served as a support trendline since early April.
With the Bitcoin price having a CME gap around $79,000, this analyst predicted that a rally towards $82,000 could occur in the coming weeks. Moreover, he believes that BTC price could rally to a new local high before encountering significant resistance around its 50-day MA.
“If Bitcoin is able to get back towards the highs, which I think we could see most likely in June, we could see a strong run towards $90,000 and the 50-MA as a crucial resistance zone,” Poppe stated.
Bitcoin price outlook as spot and leverage traders clash
Bitcoin price has been trapped in a horizontal consolidation since April 22, and at the time of publication. Over the past 30 days, BTC price dropped by nearly 3%, trading at approximately $76,770 at press time.
The flagship coin has experienced reduced bullish momentum amid a clear conflict between spot and leverage traders. For instance, Bitcoin’s leverage market has surged over the past 3 months, with derivatives traders leaning bullish, as Finbold reported.
On the other hand, the United States spot BTC exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have recorded two consecutive weeks of outflows totaling $2.1 billion, according to data from SoSoValue.
Meanwhile, the Bitcoin Coinbase Premium Gap, the difference between BTC price on Coinbase and Binance, has dropped to the lowest negative level since February, suggesting an intensified selling pressure in the United States, based on metrics from CryptoQuant. As such, a clear direction could be established once the spot and derivatives traders harmonize their midterm expectations.
