[Digital Today reporter Yoonseo Lee] Bitcoin extends its early-week rebound, increasing the likelihood of entering a resistance zone near $88,000.

On April 21 local time, blockchain outlet The Crypto Basic reported that market analyst Michaël van de Poppe (미카엘 반 더 포페) said last weekend's pullback was closer to risk-off flows than a weakening of the trend, pointing to room for further gains in bitcoin.

Bitcoin fell 6 percent over the weekend, at one point dropping from $78,360 to $73,600. The market then reaffirmed the area near $73,000 as a key support level. The price rebounded into the $75,000 range and continued to rise. In a chart he shared, van de Poppe had identified the $73,000 area as an "important zone that must be held" and viewed that support as having held.

He said it was becoming harder to find a reason why the crypto market should not rise and that the current market environment also leaned toward a rebound. He judged that early in the week, sentiment tilted again toward risk assets and no major negative factors had been confirmed.

Traditional financial market indicators also supported that trend. Moves in the volatility index, or VIX, slowed, and gold price volatility also declined, easing risk-off pressure. That was seen as creating conditions for bitcoin's short-term uptrend to continue.

Fund flows are also favorable. According to figures compiled by SosoValue, 13 U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, recorded total net inflows of $996.38 million last week. It was a sign that institutional money is moving back into crypto investment products. Net inflows on the first trading day of this week also came to $238.0 million.

Such inflows are cited as a factor that further reduces bitcoin's limited circulating supply. If institutional buying continues, supply shortage pressure could increase. The market views sustained buying via spot ETFs as one of the key variables lifting the upper end of prices.

Technical moves are also leaning toward an uptrend. Bitcoin is raising both lows and highs on short-term charts. The next key resistance zone is between $85,000 and $88,000. That is 11 percent and 15 percent higher than the current price, respectively. If bitcoin breaks through that zone, its price trend could strengthen further, with $100,000 cited as the next target.

Van de Poppe previously said bitcoin could reach that zone before the end of April, and he maintained the same outlook in this analysis. He saw a high chance it could reach $100,000 in May.

Whether gains can be sustained depends on external variables. It was also suggested that geopolitical stability must hold for the current upward momentum to continue. If there is no major shock factor, bitcoin may face upward pressure for the time being.

I don't see a reason why markets shouldn't go higher. I've mentioned this before, but the risk-off weekend correction is quite normal for #Bitcoin. It's a Monday, nothing bad has happened, so the risk-on appetite comes back. Great bounce upwards, and lower timeframe uptrend… pic.twitter.com/75VrkzFMRc