Bitcoin Price Pulls Back Ahead of CME Open as Traders Watch Key Gap

• Bitcoin retraced weekend gains, forming a $1,200 CME gap before futures session open.
• CME futures set to reopen while spot price aligns with prior close, reducing gap pressure.
• Low weekend activity seen, with one Hyperliquid whale driving most trading volume.

Bitcoin’s weekend price movement has drawn attention to a common market phenomenon: the CME gap. After a rally above $108,000 on Friday following the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) close, the cryptocurrency reversed direction, retracing most gains and creating a notable discrepancy between the last settlement price and its trading value during the off-hours session.

The 15-minute BTC/USD chart shows Bitcoin’s behavior from the close of the CME on Friday through the weekend. Following an initial rise to highs above $108,000, Bitcoin began to decline, falling below the CME close price of $108,241.

The pullback created a clear gap on the chart, with the area between the Friday settlement and the current price marked by contrasting shaded zones, red indicating levels below the CME close and green showing positions above it.

As of the latest reading, Bitcoin traded near $107,045, placing the CME gap at around $1,200. This gap has become a rallying point for short-term traders, who anticipate that Bitcoin may revert to the CME close level after the futures market resumes trading.

CME Futures to Resume Amid Market Watch

While the U.S. equity markets will remain closed for a public holiday, CME Bitcoin futures are scheduled to open as usual. This distinction has become urgent for traders tracking futures-driven price dynamics. The expectation of gap closure stems from historical behavior in which Bitcoin’s spot market tends to align with CME’s official pricing once futures trading resumes.

Observers have also noted that weekend trading volumes remained muted. According to market tracker Daan Crypto Trades, the only major movement stemmed from a single whale active on the Hyperliquid exchange.

Despite billions in trading volume associated with this entity, overall market activity was limited. The weekend’s overall price behavior was average, with no extreme volatility outside the gap formation.

Signs of Early Recovery into CME Open

Some signals of improvement appeared on Sunday evening. Bitcoin surged past $108,700, above the level at which CME Bitcoin futures closed. The upward move filled the earlier gap, bringing the price of Bitcoin in line with futures pricing.

A magnet icon around the CME close indicates that the price is likely to converge in that direction. According to traders, such gaps are usually expected to be filled unless there is an apparent reason behind the price move.