BTC $27,013
BTC continued to trade sideways below $27,000 on May 22 as bulls and shorts found it difficult to break the impasse.
It is worth noting that since May 11, BTC prices have been fluctuating within a narrowing ascending triangle range with horizontal resistance around $27,500 and rising trendline support currently around $26,890.
On May 22, bitcoin fell below the support trendline to around $26,550, but then quickly recovered to $26,900 - a bullish rejection. At the same time, trading volume was relatively low, suggesting that fewer traders were involved in intraday selling and pulling higher.
Overall, these technical indicators point to an ongoing conflict of biases among traders. In other words, with the same number of buyers and sellers, they are unsure of the direction of the next price trend for Bitcoin - as implied by the derivatives.
Smooth price movements in the bitcoin market may precede periods of extreme price volatility triggered by major events.
For example, Bitcoin fluctuated in a range of $16,000-$17,500 between November 9, 2022 and January 10, 2023, just after the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange. The price tried to break out of that range on some days, but failed to establish a recovery trend.
The market saw a similar flat trend after the Terra collapse in May 2022 caused BTC prices to fall sharply. Notably, BTC/USD traded in the $28,000-$30,000 range for nearly a month before entering a decisive collapse phase.
Bitcoin's flat trajectory in May 2023 came after a rally from the U.S. banking crisis two months earlier, where multiple attempts to break the psychological resistance level of $30,000 ended in failure.
In other words, bitcoin traders are once again waiting for potential market triggers that could decisively push BTC prices in either direction.
Related: How the Fed's Interest Rates Could Impact the Cryptocurrency Market
A major potential event will be the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision next month.
For now, the conflicting prospects of a rate hike could be the main factor behind the sideways consolidation of stocks, including risky assets and cryptocurrencies. In fact, historical volatility data shows that BTC prices have been one of the least volatile periods since April.
Meanwhile, technicals suggest a possible breakout above its 50-day exponential moving average (50-day SMA; red wave) of around $27,580.
If this happens, BTC price could retest the important $30,000 resistance level again, with the first attempt likely to be rejected.
Instead, a pullback from the 50-day SMA would move BTC price towards the next important support level, possibly bouncing off the 200-day SMA (blue wave) near its $25,000.
BTC continued to trade sideways below $27,000 on May 22 as bulls and shorts found it difficult to break the impasse.
It is worth noting that since May 11, BTC prices have been fluctuating within a narrowing ascending triangle range with horizontal resistance around $27,500 and rising trendline support currently around $26,890.
On May 22, bitcoin fell below the support trendline to around $26,550, but then quickly recovered to $26,900 - a bullish rejection. At the same time, trading volume was relatively low, suggesting that fewer traders were involved in intraday selling and pulling higher.
Overall, these technical indicators point to an ongoing conflict of biases among traders. In other words, with the same number of buyers and sellers, they are unsure of the direction of the next price trend for Bitcoin - as implied by the derivatives.
Smooth price movements in the bitcoin market may precede periods of extreme price volatility triggered by major events.
For example, Bitcoin fluctuated in a range of $16,000-$17,500 between November 9, 2022 and January 10, 2023, just after the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange. The price tried to break out of that range on some days, but failed to establish a recovery trend.
The market saw a similar flat trend after the Terra collapse in May 2022 caused BTC prices to fall sharply. Notably, BTC/USD traded in the $28,000-$30,000 range for nearly a month before entering a decisive collapse phase.
Bitcoin's flat trajectory in May 2023 came after a rally from the U.S. banking crisis two months earlier, where multiple attempts to break the psychological resistance level of $30,000 ended in failure.
In other words, bitcoin traders are once again waiting for potential market triggers that could decisively push BTC prices in either direction.
Related: How the Fed's Interest Rates Could Impact the Cryptocurrency Market
A major potential event will be the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision next month.
For now, the conflicting prospects of a rate hike could be the main factor behind the sideways consolidation of stocks, including risky assets and cryptocurrencies. In fact, historical volatility data shows that BTC prices have been one of the least volatile periods since April.
Meanwhile, technicals suggest a possible breakout above its 50-day exponential moving average (50-day SMA; red wave) of around $27,580.
If this happens, BTC price could retest the important $30,000 resistance level again, with the first attempt likely to be rejected.
Instead, a pullback from the 50-day SMA would move BTC price towards the next important support level, possibly bouncing off the 200-day SMA (blue wave) near its $25,000.