Bitcoin Comes Under Pressure Following OKEx Scandal and a Fresh CME Gap

Bitcoin (BTC) traded through the week on strong bullish momentum. However, this momentum has recently been opposed by two major catalysts including an OKEx saga and an unfilled CME gap. 

The founder of OKEx, Mingxing Xu, was recently arrested in China and is being questioned. With Xu in police custody, the platform, which hollies over 200,000 BTC, has been “locked.” However, Bitcoin is yet to see any negative reaction to the news, although its price action has lost momentum. 

 Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s failure to hold above the $11,500 level for the second time in the past few days has emboldened bears to continue pushing prices down to the unfilled CME gap at $11,110 (GAP 2). 

CME Bitcoin futures gaps occur because traditional markets close before the weekend and reopen on the following Monday, while BTC trades uninterrupted 24/7. A spike over the weekend leaves a gap in the chart, hence the name. 

These gaps are quite significant because they act as ‘magnets’ on price action and are almost always filled. This week, a new gap has appeared between $11,110 and $11,360. 

Key BTC Levels to Monitor in the Near-Term

Bitcoin continues to trade within its tight range between $11,600 and $11,284. Although the CME gap (2) is at $11,110, a break below $11,000 could be unfavorable for BTC’s near-term bullish bias. 

At press time, the benchmark cryptocurrency is holding solidly above the $11,284 support at $11,312. If BTC bulls can defend this line strongly, we could see a retest of the $11,600 major resistance and, subsequently, the highly-coveted $12k price tag.

Total market capital: $355 billion

Bitcoin market capital: $210 billion

Bitcoin dominance: 59 %

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