Bitcoin rises 74% in Q1, ends above $28,400

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(Kitco News) – Financial markets ended the week, month and quarter on a positive note as asset prices from cryptos to stocks closed the day higher, giving weary investors reason for hope amid a growing list of global economic concerns.

US stocks ended the first quarter of 2023 with the Nasdaq up more than 15% and the S&P up more than 6%. At the close of markets on Friday, the S&P, Dow and Nasdaq ended in the green, rising 1.43%, 1.26% and 1.74% respectively.

Data provided by TradingView shows that after an early morning attack by Bitcoin (BTC) bears ran out of steam near $27,630, bulls reversed course and drove the top crypto to a daily high of $28,737 before some profit taking led to a pullback and consolidation near support of $28,500.

BTC/USD 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView

Kitco senior technical analyst Jim Wyckoff noted in his Friday BTC update that “April Bitcoin futures prices were slightly weaker in early US trading on Friday after reaching a contract high on Thursday.”

According to Wyckoff, “BC bulls have the solid overall technical advantage in the short term amid an uptrend in price in place on the daily bar chart. The trend is the bull’s friend and more upside is likely.”

Preparing for a bull market

All over crypto Twitter, analysts are expressing more optimism that the bear market is in the rearview mirror, with many pointing to the potential for interesting times ahead for the crypto market.

A more reserved view was provided by Crypto Tony, who posted the following chart highlighting the need to turn a major resistance level into support before fully accepting the bullish narrative. He warns that any significant price jump could be short-lived if this level is not broken.

Monthly close tonight across the board. We have some decent closes, but not ultra bullish

We have bearish retests at the moment and the excitement begins if we can regain these resistance zones for support

April/May will be super interesting 💯 pic.twitter.com/C62HqjqL5t

— Crypto Tony (@CryptoTony__) 31 March 2023

Former corporate banking analyst Caleb Franzen highlighted that Bitcoin is now exiting the accumulation zone it has been in for the past year, which means the “bullish long-term probabilities are improving.”

#BTC leaving another accumulation zone!

Bitcoin’s 24-month Williams%R Oscillator is set to close above the “oversold” threshold for March, marking an end to previous bear markets.

Bullish long-term probabilities are improving, as long as we stay above the lower limit. pic.twitter.com/FXTlPXkxwy

— Caleb Franzen (@CalebFranzen) 31 March 2023

And market analyst Rekt Capital noted that Bitcoin is finishing its best Q1 since 2020, which has typically signaled “multiple quarters of upside.”

#BTC is on the verge of confirming its first Quarterly Bullish Engulfing Candle since early 2020

Historically, Quarterly Bullish Engulfing Candles have preceded several quarters of upside$BTC #Crypto #Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/Hyeew5HCy0

— Rekt Capital (@rektcapital) 31 March 2023

Altcoins end the quarter strong

The altcoin market also ended March on a strong note, with the majority of tokens in the top 200 in the green on Friday and looking to extend their gains in the weeks and months ahead.

Daily performance in the cryptocurrency market. Source: Coin360

Solar (SXP) was the best of the day, rising 38.44% to a high of $0.656, followed by a 21.1% gain for Blur (BLUR) and a 17.96% increase in the price of Holo (HOT).

The total cryptocurrency market cap is now $1.183 trillion, and Bitcoin’s dominance rate is 46.3%.