Key factors:

• Bitcoin refuses to budge from a slim vary as merchants contemplate the possible breakout path.

• Worth discovery is keenly awaited, however draw back predictions embrace ranges additional towards $90,000.

• BTC/USD has delivered extremely patterned strikes since its rebound started in April.

Bitcoin (BTC) stored merchants guessing on the Could 16 Wall Avenue open as consolidation sparked each bullish and bearish forecasts.

“Vital” liquidity builds round BTC worth

Information from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView confirmed BTC/USD shuttling between $103,000 and $104,000 on the day.

Regardless of beating expectations, the most recent US macroeconomic information within the type of the Shopper Worth Index (CPI) and Producer Worth Index (PPI) prints on Could 13 and 15, respectively, didn’t exert a strong influence on short-term worth conduct.

As an alternative, merchants targeted on Bitcoin’s latest consolidation phase lower than 10% away from new all-time highs.

“$BTC Has been doing roughly the identical factor for the reason that April lows. Transfer up, tight consolidation, new leg up,” standard dealer Daan Crypto Trades wrote in a part of ongoing X evaluation. 

“Keep watch over this native vary and look ahead to a breakout to both path can be my advice.”

A separate publish famous areas of thick liquidity on both aspect of the worth, probably offering near-term targets ought to BTC/USD exit its slim vary.

$BTC Liquidation Map exhibiting a big cluster at $105K-$106K and a ton sitting between $99K-$103K.

This is smart as these are the highs/lows of the present tiny vary we’re consolidating in for the previous week or so.

Recently, we have seen quite a lot of comparable consolidations and we… pic.twitter.com/y387V1WzsC

— Daan Crypto Trades (@DaanCrypto) May 16, 2025

“Discover the huge focus of lengthy liquidations clustered tightly just under the present worth, significantly round 10280-10300? This represents a big pool of liquidity,” fellow buying and selling TheKingfisher continued. 

“Shorts are extra unfold out larger up. This imbalance makes the zone beneath a key space to look at. It might act as a worth magnet, or a set off level for cascading liquidations if worth strikes down.”

One other standard dealer, Crypto Caesar, steered {that a} vary breakout might run deeper and take Bitcoin additional beneath the $100,000 mark.

“If worth breaks and holds above this zone, we might see new loopy highs,” he told X followers, referencing a bullish crossover on the weekly shifting common convergence/divergence (MACD) indicator. 

“Nonetheless: a rejection proper right here would possibly result in a pullback towards $90K.”

A rinse-and-repeat Bitcoin breakout?

Like Daan Crypto Trades, analyst Kevin Svenson was eager to see a continuation of the stop-start rebound in place since April.

Associated: Bitcoin hitting $220K ‘reasonable’ in 2025, says gold-based forecast

Analyzing 4-hour timeframes on the day, he delivered his subsequent upside BTC/USD goal effectively inside worth discovery.

“Thus far, the measured transfer extrapolations of every leg up on this run have been pinpoint correct,” he wrote.

“If this development continues, if this sample holds, the following goal is $115,000.”

Earlier, Cointelegraph reported on quite a lot of BTC worth predictions now in power, with commentators overwhelmingly favoring upside subsequent.

Zooming out, $1 million per coin could develop into actuality in three years’ time or even sooner, based on former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes.

This text doesn’t comprise funding recommendation or suggestions. Each funding and buying and selling transfer entails threat, and readers ought to conduct their very own analysis when making a choice.