Bitcoin price recovery faces hurdles, why 100 SMA provides resistance

Bitcoin found support near $20,750 against the US dollar. BTC corrects gains but it faces resistance near $21,500 and 100 hour SMA.

• Bitcoin found support near $20,750 after a sharp decline.
• The price is now trading below the $21,500 level and the 100 hourly simple moving average.
• There was a break above a major bearish trend line with resistance near $21,270 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).
• The pair can rally higher if there is a clear move above the $22,000 resistance.

Bitcoin Price Matches

Bitcoin price gained bearish momentum below the $22,000 support zone. BTC fell below the $21,200 and $21,000 support levels before the bulls emerged.

A low was formed near $20,797 and the price started a short-term upside correction. There was a minor move up above the $21,000 level. Also, there was a break above a major bearish trend line with resistance near $21,270 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair.

However, the bitcoin price faced strong resistance near the $21,500 level and the 100-hour simple moving average. It is now struggling to clear the $21,500 resistance zone.

On the upside, an immediate resistance is near the 100 SMA at $21,450. The first major resistance on the upside is near the $21,650 level. It is near the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the key decline from the $24,415 swing high to the $20,797 low.

Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

The main resistance is forming near the $22,000 zone. Any further gains could send the price towards the 50% Fib retracement level of the key decline from the $24,415 high to $20,797 low. A close above the $22,500 and $22,650 resistance levels could push the price into a positive zone.

More losses in BTC?

If bitcoin fails to clear the $21,500 resistance zone and the 100 hour SMA, it may continue to move lower. An immediate support on the downside is near the $21,000 level.

The next major support is now near the $20,800 level. A downside break and close below the $20,800 level could start another big drop. In the indicated case, the price may drop towards the $20,000 level.

Technical indicators:

Hourly MACD – MACD is now losing momentum in the bearish zone.

Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – RSI for BTC/USD is now above the 50 level.

Major support levels – $21,000, followed by $20,800.

Major resistance levels – $21,500, $22,000 and $22,650.