Michaël van de Poppe, founder of MN Trading and a prominent market analyst, posted on X today, October 22, 2026, at 12:34:41 UTC, expressing a bearish short-term outlook on Bitcoin. Van de Poppe observed that "#Bitcoin couldn't hold its ground after the push upwards (primarily leverage and news-driven). Flushed back into the range, and as the chart stands, I don't expect we'll push back upwards. At this point I'd remain slightly bearish on the markets, in which I wouldn't be surprised that we'll see a sweep of <$80,000 coming in over the next 3-5 days as a final leverage long flush before we'll push up."
Bitcoin's price action has been a key focus for market participants recently. Gokhshtein Media's recent coverage highlighted that Bitcoin dominance reached 60 percent as altcoins slid, and that institutions were reportedly fleeing riskier assets while Bitcoin held its ground. Another report noted Bitcoin's stability during global market turmoil. Despite these observations, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index currently sits at 68, indicating a 'Greed' sentiment among investors.
Van de Poppe's view suggests that any upward momentum was primarily driven by leverage, leading to an unsustainable push. His forecast implies a potential short-term dip below the $80,000 mark to flush out leveraged long positions before a more sustainable upward trend could emerge. Investors might watch for this potential price action over the next three to five days as a key indicator of Bitcoin's immediate trajectory.
