Analysis: BTC surge over the past weekend led by institutions

Bitcoin (BTC) briefly surged to $107,000 on May 18 before dropping to $102,000, a sharp move that aligned with the opening of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) futures market, according to CoinDesk. The spike began on CME, suggesting the move was driven by institutional traders rather than retail investors. Unlike previous weeks, there was no opening gap, and the $5,000 swing cleared liquidity on both sides, creating a key inflection point. Liquidity remains thin up to $110,000, while strong buy orders are stacked near $100,000—raising the possibility of a breakout to new all-time highs. However, the move could also have been a stop-loss hunt, where traders push the price higher to trigger short liquidations before entering larger short positions. With low liquidity near record highs, BTC may be just one catalyst away from a significant breakout.