Editor’s Note: With so much market volatility, stay on top of daily news! Get caught up in minutes with our speedy summary of today’s must-read news and expert opinions. Sign up here!
(Kitco News) – The cryptocurrency market remains motionless as the price of Bitcoin (BTC) trades flat near $22,500 amid concerns about the health of Silvergate Bank.
Market action on Monday saw the traditional markets close in the green, with the S&P and Dow up 0.07% and 0.12%, respectively, while the Nasdaq recorded a loss of 0.11%.
Data from TradingView shows that Bitcoin traded in a range between $22,400 and $22,700 throughout the day, with neither the bulls nor the bears gaining the upper hand, resulting in a stalemate of sorts with both sides awaiting some catalyst that can cause a notable price movement in the top crypto.
BTC/USD 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView
Kitco senior technical analyst Jim Wyckoff noted that March Bitcoin futures traded firmer during the early U.S. trading hours on Monday, and “Bulls have lost their overall near-term technical advantage as a price uptrend on the daily chart has been negated.”
“Prices are now in a fledgling downtrend and bears have some momentum,” Wyckoff said.
BTC/USD 1-day chart. Source: Eight Global
Eight Global wrote that Bitcoin’s price has lost the bottom support of their tentative channel and has since struggled to push back in. The 8EMA is cutting through the 34EMA from above, and they are currently both in sync with the channel bottom, which may add to the resistance here.
Currently, Bitcoin is making a higher low and higher high structure, and as long as it can hold above the previous low of $21,370, the bullish chart pattern will continue, the analysts wrote.
“Until proven otherwise, HTF [high time frame] longs could be kept open with first targets of around $26,500, and if the pattern continues, eventually $28,000 – $30,000.”
BTC/USD 1-day chart. Source: Eight Global
However, if the low of $21,370 is breached, there could be an ABC type correction, with the $20,800 area then a likely support for the A wave. Eight Global recommends placing stop-loss orders for long positions below $21,370 as a preventative measure and moving them up toward $23,000 in the event that Bitcoin’s price climbs higher.
BTC/USD 1-day chart. Source: Eight Global
“No matter if you are favoring longs or short positions here, setting your SL to b/e once the price reasonably moves in your favor is the best way to protect your capital in a week where we will likely see prices chopping around quite a bit,” Eight Global concluded.
Altcoins stagnate
On the whole, it was a negative day for the altcoin market as the majority of tokens traded in the red while only a handful of projects recorded slight gains.
