Bitcoin price gives up key trend line as US jobs data sheds 5%
Bitcoin (BTC) remained near the lower end of its trading range until October 8 after bulls failed to recoup macro-induced losses.
$20,000 disappears into the weekend
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD circulating $19,500 at the time of writing.
A low of $19,340 appeared on Bitstamp the previous day before the consolidation began.
The pair had seen a quick, if predictable, downside that accompanied the US unemployment numbers, with crypto markets copying stocks as the US dollar rose.
Michaël van de Poppe, founder and CEO of trading company Eight, described unemployment as “much lower than expected”.
“This week’s economic data was contradictory,” he continued:
“Positive in the latter part of the week with unemployment falling from 3.7% to 3.5%, while earlier this week vacancies and PMI data came in poorly. Eyes now focus on earnings season, PPI and CPI next week.”
On-chain analytics resource Material Indicators, meanwhile, noted the ongoing importance of Bitcoin’s 50-day moving average (MA) as resistance.
Currently, at just under $20,000, the 50MA was also joined by the 21MA following the release of the unemployment data, and the latter was subsequently recovered.
“This week, Bitcoin had 4 consecutive rejections from 50-day MA, and on today’s positive US unemployment report, bulls gave back the R/S swings $20k, the 2017 peak and the 21-day MA,” Material Indicators in summary.
Liquidations increase when the market burns for a long time
As a result of the rapid return to volatility, BTC long traders, meanwhile, suffered nearly $23 million in liquidations on October 7.
Related: BTC Price Still Not at ‘Max Pain’ – 5 Things to Know in Bitcoin This Week
Total cross-crypto long liquidations were nearly $63 million on the day, data from Coinglass confirmed, with shorters adding another $19.5 million to the tally.
Last week, Cointelegraph reported on the significance of $19,000 as the current floor zone, a significant breach that, analysts feared, would result in a much larger liquidation.
Whale buying and selling levels were therefore key, the analysis platform Whalemap concludedwith a potential downside price target of $12,500 in play should support fail.
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