Bottom Confirmed? Bitcoin at 20-Day High Near $11K

Bottom Confirmed? Bitcoin at 20-Day High Near $11K

 
NEWS
Omkar Godbole   
 Feb 19, 2018 at 10:15 UTC  |  Updated  Feb 19, 2018 at 11:47 UTC

The bitcoin price has rallied 84 percent from recent lows, suggesting a bottom is in place, although a long-term bull revival is still not certain, according to the price charts

Over the weekend, CoinDesk's Bitcoin Price Index (BPI) rose to $11,279.18, its highest level since Jan. 29. As of writing, the BPI is seen at $10,800 - up 1.59 percent in the last 24 hours. However, a bout of profit taking seems to have pushed the cryptocurrency back below $11,000.

While the "V"-shaped rally from the Feb. 6 low of $5,947.40 certainly paints a bullish picture, investors are still divided on whether BTC has found a long-term bottom below $6,000.

Bitcoin seems to have bottomed out below $6,000 as indicated by bullish doji reversal, but the weekly indicators are still less clear about the long-term prospects for the bulls, as discussed below.

Weekly chart

Last week's green candle marked a positive follow-through to previous week's long-tailed doji candle and confirmed a bullish doji reversal. So, it appears a bottom has been made at $5,873.

That said, the position of the relative strength index (RSI) indicates the job is still half done. As discussed last week, during the bull run (2015-2017), at no point were the bears strong enough to push the RSI below the support zone of 55.00-53.00. However, the RSI did drop below the support zone during the recent sell-off, signaling a bear market.

Further, it still remains below resistance zone of 53.00-55.00 (former support). Hence, a long-term bullish reversal is still not confirmed.

Also, a look at the short-duration chart indicates a key Fibonacci level has come into play. Bitcoin prices on Coinbase's GDAX exchange created a red candle (down day) yesterday at $11,228.25, which is the 38.2 percent Fibonacci retracement of the sell-off from $19,891.99 to $5,873.

Daily chart

  • The ascending trendline (drawn from the Jul. 17 low and Sep. 15 low) is still intact.
  • The chart also shows a 50-day moving average (MA) and 100-day MA bearish crossover (short-term average cuts long-term average from above).
  • The 5-day MA and 10-day MA are curled up in favor of the bulls.

View

  • A move of the weekly RSI above 53.00 would confirm the long-term bull reversal and open the doors for a re-test of record highs. However, on the way higher, bitcoin prices could face resistance at $17,174 (Jan. 6 high).
  • Meanwhile, a drop below $9,017.41 (Jan. 17 low) would add credence to the bearish weekly RSI, and the bearish 50-day MA and 100-day MA crossover, and could yield a deeper sell-off towards $7,000.



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Bitcoin Breaks $11k As New Support Forms And Analysts Turn Bullish

Bitcoin Breaks $11k As New Support Forms And Analysts Turn Bullish

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Bitcoin Breaks $11k As New Support Forms And Analysts Turn Bullish

NEWS

Monday, Feb. 19: the Bitcoin price has surpassed $11,000 twice since Sunday as bullish sentiment returns to markets and new support begins to form.

Data from Cointelegraph's price index shows a BTC/USD journey to a high of $11,190.10 Feb. 18, followed by a smaller peak above the significant barrier Monday at $11,001.45.

Optimism is flowing after Bitcoin broke through resistance surrounding $10,000 Feb. 16, the threshold subsequently forming a support floor with prices staying above it as of press time.

The move upwards broadly reflects predictions by well-known cryptocurrency price analyst Tone Vays, who in various recent forecasts warned of volatility around $10,000 and a repositioning of support floors.

Now, "clear" support and resistance will make future price action "more predictable" going forward, he says, noting the "bullish" trend in both daily and weekly charts as the week begins.

Bitcoin has outperformed the majority of the top 50 altcoin assets tracked by Coinmarketcap in USD terms over the past 24 hours.

Ethereum Classic (ETC) has been a notable exception, gaining 11% on BTC since Sunday amid a trading uptick following a social media plug by major proponent Barry Silbert Feb. 12.

Silbert had attributed Bitcoin's latest rise to the effect of its appearance on US talk show Ellen late last week, in which host Ellen DeGeneres briefly explained what Bitcoin is to millions of viewers.

Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Litecoin (LTC) meanwhile lost around 2% against BTC during the same period.




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Crypto Currencies Markets Updates

BTC/USD

Bitcoin is attempting to extend its recovery, but it is likely to face a strong resistance from the current levels to the $9,500 mark, from the downtrend line, the 20-day EMA and the horizontal resistance.  

BTC/USD

There are two possibilities – the price will either break out or turn down from here. Do we know for sure which one will happen? No. So, we should be ready for both scenarios.

If the BTC/USD pair breaks out of $9,500 and sustains for four hours, it confirms a breakout and we recommend long positions with a stop loss of $7,800. Our first target is a move to the 50-day SMA, which currently is at about $11,780. Above this, we might see a move to the resistance line of the descending channel.

Secondly, if the price turns down from $9,500 and breaks below $7,800, a slide to $7,000 is likely.

As we don't have a confirmation of a bottom yet, it is recommended to keep the position size only 50 percent of usual.    

ETH/USD

Ethereum formed an inside day candlestick pattern yesterday, February 13. Today, it is trying to extend the pullback.  

ETH/USD

The recovery looks strong as the ETH/USD pair has not given up much ground since bottoming out on February 6, at $565.54.

Overhead resistance is at the 20-day EMA at $902 and the 50-day SMA at $985, whereas support is at $775.

Aggressive traders can initiate long positions once the price sustains above $902 for four hours. The positions should be closed at the 50-day SMA, if the cryptocurrency struggles to break out of it, else a move to the resistance line of the descending channel, around the $1,050 to $1,100 mark might happen.

BCH/USD

Since the large range move on February 8, Bitcoin Cash has been trading in a small range. As most cryptocurrencies are showing signs of a recovery, we expect this consolidation to resolve on the upside.    

BCH/USD

The BCH/USD pair has a history of vertical rallies. Therefore, we want to take this trade. Currently, the price has broken out of the downtrend line and the descending channel, but it is yet to clear the 20-day EMA, which is at $1,351.

We recommend a buy at $1,400. The up move can extend to the 50-day SMA at $1,860 and thereafter to $2,000. The stop loss for the trade can be kept at $1,100.  

XRP/USD

Ripple has been trading in a tight range for the past four days. It is currently facing resistance at the 20-day EMA. If it breaks out of this, we expect it to gain momentum.

XRP/USD

Therefore, we had recommended a long position on the XRP/USD pair in our previous analysis.

We reiterate our buy call because with most of the cryptocurrencies moving up, we believe that a rally to $1.50 and thereafter to $1.74 is possible. However, we recommend buying only after the digital currency sustains above $1.08 levels for four hours.

Our bullish view will be invalidated if the digital currency breaks down of $0.86.         

XLM/USD

Stellar is also showing signs of a change in trend. It has broken out of the overhead resistance at $0.41 and is currently at the resistance line of the descending channel.

XLM/USD

Once the price sustains above the channel, it will signal a change in trend and a move to $0.63 is likely. We recommend a long position on the XLM/USD pair at $0.45 with a stop loss at $0.30 on daily closing basis (as per UTC time frame).

We note that the resistance at the 50-day SMA should be watched carefully. If the bulls struggle to breakout of this, it is prudent to close the position.

LTC/USD

We have been bullish on Litecoin for the past few days. We had recommended a long position in it in our previous analysis. Our trade triggered today and our readers would have entered long positions at $180. The break out above $175 has completed a short-term double bottom, which has a minimum target objective of $242.

LTC/USD

The LTC/USD pair has cleared the immediate overhead resistance from the 50-day SMA; it is a bullish sign.

The price should now rally to $242 and thereafter to $307 levels. We had previously recommended a stop loss of $130. However, post the breakout, the stops should be raised to $140.

We'd better keep trailing the stops higher because we don't want to hang on to the trade if it falls back below $175.

ADA/BTC

Cardano is not finding any buyers. It is looking weak and a breakdown from the bearish descending triangle pattern looks possible.  

ADA/BTC

The price has broken down of the critical support of 0.00004070. Unless the bulls quickly climb above this level, there might be a fall to the next support level of 0.0000246.

Our bearish view on the ADA/BTC pair will be invalidated if the price breaks out of the downtrend line of the descending triangle.   

NEO/USD

NEO has reached the critical overhead resistance of $120 from where it has returned on three previous occasions. Once the cryptocurrency breaks out of this level, we might see a move towards the downtrend line of the descending triangle pattern.   

NEO/USD

We retain our recommendation for a buy call given on the NEO/USD pair in our previous analysis. Traders can go long once the price sustains above $121 for four hours. The stop loss can be kept at $100. Target objective is a rally to $140.

EOS/USD

EOS has reached a critical resistance zone of $9.8 to $10.6. In this zone, it has resistance from the 20-day EMA, the 50-day SMA and the downtrend line.

EOS/USD

The EOS/USD pair will change its trend once it breaks out of the downtrend line. Until then, we are unable to recommend any reliable trades in it.


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Bitcoin Price Tops $10K Across Major Exchanges

Bitcoin Price Tops $10K Across Major Exchanges

 
NEWS
Daniel Palmer  
 Feb 15, 2018 at 17:29 UTC  |  Updated  Feb 16, 2018 at 01:51 UTC

Bitcoin's price is back above $10,000 for the first time since December of last year, shortly after it had charted a course to record highs near $20,000.

Since the Feb. 6 low around $6,116 (as per CoinMarketCap) - a correction that saw bitcoin lose 69.5 percent of its value from the all-time high - the cryptocurrency has slowly gained altitude despite media headlines and prominent figures in finance calling the correction a bubble in collapse.

As of press time, the price of bitcoin is trading at $10,037.51, according to CoinDesk's Bitcoin Price Index (BPI). Overall, the price of bitcoin has risen more than $500 since the day's open.

According to CoinDesk's Bitcoin Price Index, bitcoin opened the session today at $9,477 and climbed steadily through the day, bar a brief drop around 10:00 UTC. The $10,000 mark was reached at around 17:25 UTC.

Market data indicates that price action on exchanges like GDAX saw the push above $10,000, with a notable green candle emerging. Bitstamp, itBit and Kraken, among others, also saw the price pop past $10,000.

And signs appear strong the price may hold.

Following the $10,000 crossover, traders appear to have been able to tend off sell orders. A view of the minute-by-minute action reveals bears sought to capitalize on bitcoin's boost, selling the price back below $10,000.

However, data from GDAX shows the price followed through to return to the green.

At press time, bitcoin's recovery is also reflected across the wider cryptocurrency markets, with digital assets across the board seeing gains today after major losses through January and February. Amid the rebound, tokens like litecoin and ripple (XRP) are doing especially well in the top 10 by market cap.

Litecoin is up 50 percent over the week, while XRP is up 48 percent.

Balloon and flame image via Shutterstock

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is an independent media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. Have breaking news or a story tip to send to our journalists? Contact us at news@coindesk.com. 

Disclaimer: This article should not be taken as, and is not intended to provide, investment advice. Please conduct your own thorough research before investing in any cryptocurrency.

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