Bitcoin is mirroring the 2020 pre-breakout, but analysts disagree on whether this time is different
Bitcoin (BTC) failed to breach $20,000 despite a new weekly high on October 18 as market watchers awaited action.
Bitcoin meanders as stocks rise
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed that BTC/USD defied volatility again on the day.
The pair remained noticeably steady despite stronger moves for US stocks at the Wall Street open. At the time of writing, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index were up 1.5% and 1.2% respectively.
“We are now witnessing another well-delayed relief rally in equities,” says financial commentator Kobeissi Letter told Twitter followers.
“After over a month of almost straight down price action, a refutation was needed.”
The post continued with a warning about the upcoming meeting of the Federal Reserve where a further interest rate hike will be announced.
“But as third quarter earnings begin and the next Fed meeting approaches, we are far from ready. Use stoppers and don’t get caught,” it advised.
With the mood still uncertain, crypto commentators therefore largely stuck to existing predictions when it came to short-term price movements.
“The area around $19.3000 is the key to hold and then we can expand to $22.2000,” Michaël van de Poppe, founder and CEO of trading platform Eight, wrote in part of a tweet on the day.
Popular trader Il Capo of Crypto declared Bitcoin ‘poised to pump to 20k+’ has already given a target of $21,000 for the relief rally.
Fellow trader Crypto Tony was more conservative on the potential range for BTC/USD in the coming week, flagging the area around $20,000 as a likely place for a long-term trajectory decision to be made.
Exchange activity reminiscent of the end of 2020
Analysis of exchange order books, meanwhile, yielded interesting conclusions about the nature of today’s price setup.
Related: Bitcoin price ‘easy’ due to reach $2M in six years – Larry Lepard
On Binance, the largest exchange by volume, a significant wall of resistance was active at $20,000, which material indicators of analytical resources in the chain compared to November 2020.
At the time, Bitcoin abruptly broke through the $20,000 barrier to begin months of upside to new all-time highs near $60,000.
“The last time BTC had such a large selling wall just above the active trading range was November 2020,” Material Indicators commented.
“It was literally the same amount at the same price level. Over $100 million in asking liquidity was consumed to start the bull run. Don’t think an outbreak from here will do the same, but…”
Il Capo of Crypto as well highlighted activity on the derivative platform FTX. Traders there had given strong support, he noted, claiming that this “pushed the price up.”
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