- Bitcoin’s price has been caught within an incredibly tight consolidation phase over the past few weeks
- Multiple trend catalysts – both bearish and bullish – have arisen during this time, yet none of them have been able to provide BTC with any notable momentum
- Analysts are now noting that this won’t last for too much longer, with many expecting a large movement in the coming days and weeks
- One trader also believes that the next move will have serious conviction and may set the tone for where it trends over a long-term timeframe
Bitcoin and the entire crypto market have been consolidating as of late, with multiple notable news events doing little to provide BTC with any directionality.
Just a matter of weeks ago, news broke regarding the CFTC’s pursuit of the BitMEX co-founders. This rocked the market for a short period of time, causing Bitcoin to reel from $10,900 to $10,400.
It has since recovered the vast majority of these losses.
Today, news regarding Square – a publicly listed company – buying $50 million worth of BTC to hold as a reserve asset only boosted the cryptocurrency’s price by under 1%.
Despite the intensity of this sideways trading, one analyst believes a trend defining move is imminent.
Bitcoin’s Price Remain Stuck Within Tight Trading Range
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading up just under 1% at its current price of $10,750. This marks a decent upswing from its recent lows of $10,630, but it isn’t a large enough move to invalidate the crypto’s consolidation phase.
The macro consolidation phase between $10,200 and $11,200 still remains, and which of these levels is broken first will likely determine where BTC trends in the near-term.
Discussions surrounding a potential second round of stimulus in the U.S. may influence where Bitcoin trends in the near-term.
Analyst: BTC Volatility Likely Only Days Away
While sharing his thoughts on when Bitcoin might make a big move, one popular analyst stated that he is watching for a trend-defining breakout or breakdown before this weekend.
“I think that given this prolonged state of compression that we get a big move before the weekend for BTC. Either direction, I doubt we get some cookie-cutter retest. It’s one of those candles where you need to commit quick or the trade is already behind you.”
Image Courtesy of Cantering Clark.
Today’s news regarding Square is certainly positive for Bitcoin, but the cryptocurrency’s tempered response to it so far seems to be a bearish sign.
Featured image from Unsplash. Pricing data from TradingView.
