BTC Testing Support
Bitcoin prices are attempting to recover today following heavy across the last four days. BTC futures fell almost 12% from Monday’s highs as a hawkish shift in Fed expectations fuelled a resurgence in USD. Better US data, on the back of hawkish Fed guidance at the December FOMC, saw traders scaling back their Q1 rate-cut expectations. With USD strengthening as a result, BTC was sharply sold seeing the market trading back down to a test of the 91,750 level which has been key support since the November breakout. Price is stabilising for now, however, downside risks remain into US labour market data later today.
US Jobs On Watch
Given the shift in USD sentiment, any strength in today’s US jobs report should be firmly bullish for the Dollar. If we do see a breakout move in USD, BTC is likely to break lower near-term. However, if we see any downside surprise today this will be good new for BTC bulls and should see the market recovering further as USD softens.
US Govt BTC Sale
Another bearish risk for Bitcoin near-term, is the news that the US government has received approval to sell off the roughly 70k units of BTC seized during the Silk Road closure. Worth around $5 billion, the sale of the seized assets poses a heavy downside threat to BTC though a timeline for the sale is not yet clear.
Technical Views
BTC
The sell off in BTC has seen price trading down to test the 91,750 level which is holding as support for now. This area is now a key pivot for the market and can be seen as the neckline of a sloping head and shoulders pattern. If broken, there is room for a deeper push towards 86,645 and 74,655 beyond. Bulls need to see price quickly back above the 100k mark to alleviate downside risks.
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With 10 years of experience as a private trader and professional market analyst under his belt, James has carved out an impressive industry reputation. Able to both dissect and explain the key fundamental developments in the market, he communicates their importance and relevance in a succinct and straight forward manner.