Bitcoin traders earmark key BTC price levels as $34K struggles to hold

Bitcoin ( BTC ) fell below $34,000 after the Oct. 26 Wall Street open as consolidation at 17-month highs continued.

$33,000 becomes do-or-die BTC price level

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC price behavior challenging intraday lows.

The largest cryptocurrency had attempted to push higher still the day prior, but sell-side pressure ensured that $35,200 remained untouched as a ceiling .

“We are going to have to wait for some candles to develop to see what the next move is, but we can gain some insight by continuing to monitor liquidity placement in the order book,” monitoring resource Material Indicators wrote in part of its latest X update .

“Historically, the side with the heaviest concentration of liquidity closest to the active trading zone wins the battle and right now those concentrations on both sides are very close with a slight advantage to the bid side.”

Material Indicators flagged $33,000 as the key level to hold, as “any wicks below that level before (or after) the Monthly candle close would invalidate this attempt at a Bull Market breakout.”

“Based on how this market tends to operate, I can envision a short squeeze to $36k and potentially up to $40k before a dump, and I'll be happy to scalp any long setups that come my way, but remaining cautious until we retest $33k,” it added.

As Cointelegraph reported, $36,000 is already on the radar as a target to overcome as part of a breakout that could see $45,000 return next month .

Other popular market participants, including Michaël van de Poppe, founder of trading firm MNTrading, had similar BTC price zones of interest.

Still interesting to keep an eye on #Bitcoin .

Fighting $34.7K as resistance, through which a breakout there should lead to $37-38K.

On the other hand, areas between $32.6-33.1K, if we get there, areas of longing.

Corrections are usually quite swift in upwards trends. pic.twitter.com/DTOYcoCQIK

— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) October 26, 2023

“Current price action is very predatory,” popular trader Daan Crypto Trades continued in part of his own analysis.

“Really punishing any longs or shorts that are over-extending. Looks to be in chop mode overall until $33K or $35K breaks.”

An accompanying chart tracked the ongoing relationship between open interest, or OI, and recent BTC price “squeezes.”

No $20,000 CME gap fill?

Zooming out, trader and analyst Credible Crypto, known for his optimistic takes on the BTC price outlook, took one bearish theory in particular to task.

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This involved concerns of a return to $20,000 — the site of the only nearby "gap" in CME Group Bitcoin futures markets.

As Cointelegraph reported, these gaps  form when BTC/USD starts a new week in a different place to where it traded the Friday prior, and the result is often a magnet for the market.

Some believe that $20,000 is very much on the cards due to the gap, but Credible Crypto told X subscribers not to wait for capitulation.

"I said some months ago that we would likely leave that gap behind," he commented, adding that "gaps are often left unfilled during parabolic advances."

He linked to a chart showing historical gaps originally uploaded in March this year.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.