Daily BTC Analysis

Whether it’s because of Thanksgiving or just the inability to push through higher levels, traditional markets have been trading mostly muted.

Comparatively, crypto markets seem to now be on investors' radar and experience much more activity. After a two-month-long rally and probably a lot of complacency, the bout of volatility yesterday shook many, triggering massive liquidations. Any opportunistic buyer would’ve been happy to pick up some coins.

Bitcoin bounced back and the bullish narrative hasn’t strayed from what it was, say, two days ago. There’s plenty of cash in the system, a growing base of institutional investors allocating -sticky- capital to BTC, and a lot of miners who won’t part with their coins (yet).

Hurdles pave the way, though. Along with the growing investor base, we’re also seeing growing attention from regulators. While those are supportive in the long run, it naturally threatens some participants, corporate or individuals, who might not want or be able to comply.

The weekend, following a massive options expiry later today, will be decisive and show whether strong hands prevail or if impatient traders give in and take whatever profit they can.

By the way, we’re seeing more whale transfers onto exchanges. Are they preparing to play games and catch unsuspecting traders off-guard?

Technical Analysis

Prices respected support and resistance areas with freakish accuracy and obedience.

After a drop to $16,200, prices bounced back rapidly just at or above $17,130, unable to vanquish a massive buying pressure. The steady upward channel we’ve been enjoying since early October is clearly broken, though, and the damage must be felt by most traders who now need to choose between greed or fear.

While the bounce (creating a long bottom wick) seems to hint at higher prices, the strong red candle hints at just the opposite. It would not be surprising to see prices stagnate in the current zone or even retrace further as people sell to wait-and-see.

While a bullish move would push us back above the $17,890 mark, a bearish tilt would see us retest and potentially break the $16,270 level, touched just yesterday.