Bitcoin Price Looks to Defend $6K as Sell-Off Slows
Bitcoin (BTC) could defend the immediate support of $6,000 in the short-term as the recent downtrend is looking overstretched, according to technical studies.
The world's largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization fell for the third straight day on Wednesday to hit a three-week low of $6,121 on Bitfinex and was last seen trading at $6,320 – down 26 percent from the July 24 high of $8,507.
Notably, almost half of the 26 percent drop witnessed in the last two weeks has happened in the last 48 hours, which indicates the investors have been left unimpressed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC's) decision to postpone any action regarding a bitcoin ETF proposal from VanEck SolidX Bitcoin Trust.
So, there is little reason for the bulls to make a strong comeback in the short-term. On the other hand, the bears could have reached a point of exhaustion, having engineered a near 90-degree sell-off in the last two weeks.
The technical charts are also indicating the bitcoin market is nearing oversold conditions. As a result, we could be in for a bout of consolidation or a minor corrective rally. That said, it is still too early to call a bullish trend reversal as the momentum studies are still biased toward the bears.
Daily chart
The above chart shows, BTC convincingly closed (as per UTC) below the ascending trendline yesterday, boosting the odds of a further sell-off.
The cryptocurrency has also found acceptance below $6,357 (78.6 percent Fibonacci retracement of the rally from $5,755 to $8,507), which only adds to the overall bearish tone of the market.
Hence, a drop to $6,000 (psychological support) cannot be ruled out, although the bearish momentum is likely to wane as the relative strength index (RSI) is closing on the oversold territory (below 30.00).
Further, the short-duration charts are also reporting oversold conditions.
4-hour chart
The RSI on the 4-hour chart fell back below 30.00 (oversold levels) and hit the lowest level since June 22 earlier today, meaning the cryptocurrency is most oversold in seven-weeks.
Consequently, BTC could trade in a sideways manner or could witness a minor corrective rally in the next day or two.
However, the sustainability of the gains is under question as the 50-candle MA has crossed the 200-candle MA from above (bearish crossover). More importantly, all three major MAs (50-candle, 100-candle, and 200-candle MAs) are located one below the other, indicating the path of least resistance is to the downside.
What's more, the 5-day and 10-day MAs continue to slope downwards in a bear-friendly manner.
View The bearish momentum in BTC could wane in the next 24 hours, allowing the cryptocurrency to defend the immediate support of $6,000. A corrective rally cannot be ruled out but is seen running out of steam around the downward sloping 5-day and 10-day MAs, currently located at $6,660 and $7,000, respectively. A daily close (as per UTC) above the 10-day MA would weaken the bearish pressure somewhat. Acceptance below $6,000 would shift risk in favor of a drop to $5,755 (June lows) and could be followed by a "V-shaped" recovery to square one as the indicators are flashing oversold conditions.Disclosure: The author holds no cryptocurrency assets at the time of writing.
Bitcoin image via Shutterstock; Charts by Trading View
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This article is intended as a news item to inform our readers of various events and developments that affect, or that might in the future affect, the value of the cryptocurrency described above. The information contained herein is not intended to provide, and it does not provide, sufficient information to form the basis for an investment decision, and you should not rely on this information for that purpose. The information presented herein is accurate only as of its date, and it was not prepared by a research analyst or other investment professional. You should seek additional information regarding the merits and risks of investing in any cryptocurrency before deciding to purchase or sell any such instruments.
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