Key points:

• Bitcoin circles the $120,000 mark as traders boost liquidity on either side of the spot price.

• Analysis sees bulls addressing the “imbalance” to take the market higher.

• Long-term bearish divergences continue to cast doubt on the future of the Bitcoin bull market.

Bitcoin (BTC) consolidated $120,000 support at Friday’s Wall Street open as analysis prepared for a fresh short squeeze.

Trader eyes $123,000 BTC liquidity

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed a cooling of short-term BTC price volatility on the day.

BTC/USD had hit new local highs into the daily close, with the level to beat now at $121,100.

Commenting on the current market set-up, popular trader CrypNuevo eyed overhead ask liquidity as a likely target next.

“Liquidations at $120k have been hit,” he summarized in part of his latest analysis on X. 

“Now we’re in this Liquidity Pool (LP) which represents an imbalance in the chart and needs to be fully retraced ($123.2k).”

Data from CoinGlass additionally showed bids massing around $118,500, representing potential support in the event of a market correction.

On the topic of a potential retracement, popular trader BitBull suggested that this could come thanks to a surge in open interest (OI) on derivatives markets.

“In the next 1-2 weeks, BTC and alts will have a big leverage flush,” he predicted in part of an X post. 

“This’ll force people to sell their coins as they think that Uptober is over. After that, Bitcoin and alts will rally again and hit new highs.”

CoinGlass data put total futures OI across exchanges at a record $88.7 billion on the day.

Bearish divergences cause concern

A further argument for trouble down the line came from fellow trader Roman, who eyed bearish relative strength index (RSI) divergences on daily and weekly timeframes. 

Related: What $110K gap? Bitcoin futures are ‘aggressively long’ as whales return

A bearish divergence occurs when RSI hits lower highs as price hits higher highs — something playing out around Bitcoin’s current $124,500 record.

“I wonder how long $BTC can ignore these bear divergences and lack of momentum on the 1W and 1M,” Roman queried Tuesday. 

“Volume is also telling us there’s a lack of strength. It’s only a matter of time before they play out. Be careful holding here.”

As Cointelegraph reported, four-hour RSI continues to sit in “overbought” territory, reinforcing expectations of low-timeframe price cooling.

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.