Michaël van de Poppe Says Bitcoin Must Hold $74K Before Any Climb Back to $80K

Three Things to Know

• Veteran trader Michaël van de Poppe sees Bitcoin's pullback as a chance to buy, with one firm condition attached.
• Bitcoin trades below both its 50-day and 200-day averages, and momentum still favors sellers.
• The $74K area is the line his bullish case cannot afford to lose.

Michaël van de Poppe has turned bullish on Bitcoin after its slide this month. The veteran trader calls the current zone a buying window, provided buyers defend it first.

His call lands at a fragile moment for the largest cryptocurrency. Sellers have controlled the trend for weeks, and the chart shows thin support below.

Van de Poppe Calls $74K a Buying Window

Van de Poppe, who has a large following among active investors, sees the recent drop as a chance for traders willing to buy on weakness.

Bitcoin has to hold the $74K area first, he said, before any recovery toward $80K can take shape. He did not give a time frame. He sees the level as a zone where buyers can absorb selling and set a base.

His target sits about 8% above the current price. That gap is modest by Bitcoin standards, yet resistance near $76K would need to give first.

A clean break below that floor would undercut the idea of a buying zone.

Bitcoin Trades Beneath Both Averages After a 12% Monthly Slide

Bitcoin (BTC) daily price with the nearest support (green) and resistance (red). Source: TradingView

Bitcoin is down about 12% over 30 days. It also lost roughly 5% over the past week, a sign of steady, grinding pressure.

Today's session was flat. A quiet day after a slide like this often reflects sellers catching their breath.

The bigger concern is the moving averages. A moving average smooths out daily swings to show the underlying trend over a set period. Bitcoin trades below its 50-day average, now near $79K. It also sits under its 200-day average, the longer-term gauge many traders watch most closely.

Trading beneath both lines is a bearish structure. Each average now acts as a ceiling, a place where rallies tend to stall as earlier buyers sell to break even.

The 200-day line lines up with the resistance level already flagged above. That overlap makes it the first real test for Van de Poppe's view. A daily close back above it would be the first sign his forecast has legs. Until then, the trend still favors sellers.

Sellers Still Steer Momentum Near Oversold

RSI, a 0 to 100 gauge of momentum, sits near 34 on the daily chart. That reading is weak, but it has not yet reached the oversold zone below 30. In plain terms, sellers still have room to push before the move looks stretched.

Other momentum signals agree. MACD, which tracks shifts in trend speed, still points down, and trend-strength readings favor sellers.

Buyers would want to see MACD turn back up. That shift would suggest selling pressure is fading and give his thesis its first technical support.

Little Floor Between $74K and $63K

Overhead, sellers have defended the 200-day zone throughout this slide. A second ceiling waits higher, where the 50-day average sits close to his target.

Below, the next support sits near $63K, with no firmer floor in between. That leaves an air pocket under the market.

If buyers lose his pivot, price could slide quickly toward that lower support.

Two Paths From the $74K Pivot

The setup now splits into two clear scenarios.

• Bullish: A close above the 200-day zone would clear the first ceiling and open a run toward his target. That path fails if price slips back under the pivot.
• Bearish: A close below the pivot would point toward the lower support. That view fails if Bitcoin reclaims the 200-day zone.

A Call That Needs Confirmation

Until Bitcoin retakes the 200-day zone, the trend belongs to sellers, and the buying window remains a bet on a level holding.

With little support under the pivot, a failed hold could prove costly for early buyers.