Bitcoin struggles to hold $19,000 support as bears attack

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(Kitco News) – Analysts’ predictions of a spike in volatility came true in trading on Tuesday as the crypto market came under pressure at the Wall Street open and remained dormant throughout the day as the traditional markets swung back and forth from positive to negative territory.

Traders appeared confused about what they wanted to do ahead of this week’s release of the latest Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes and the Consumer Price Index (CPI), leading to a choppy day of price action across financial markets.

At the closing bell, both the S&P and Nasdaq ended the day in the red, down 0.65% and 1.04% respectively, while the Dow added a small gain of 0.12%.

Data from TradingView shows that Bitcoin (BTC) bulls made an early morning attempt to push the price above $19,300, which was solidly rebuffed by bears that sent the top crypto to a daily low of $18,875 before dip buyers were able to bid back above 19,000 dollars. .

BTC/USD 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView

Despite the increase in volatility, Bitcoin remains confined to the worn trading range it has occupied for the past couple of months with little expected to change in the near term.

“Bulls and bears continue to battle for near-term technical control amid quieter and sideways trading, with neither gaining much ground and still on an even overall near-term technical playing field,” according to Kitco senior technical analyst Jim Wyckoff. “It suggests more sideways and choppy trading in the near term.”

Looking ahead to the Bitcoin Halving

On the topic of what could help pull the crypto market out of its bearish state, many have started pointing to the Bitcoin halving, which has historically started a major market rally.

According to pseudonymous cryptoanalyst Rekt Capital, Bitcoin has historically bottomed 517-547 days before the halving event. The next halving is forecast to occur sometime between March and May 2024, meaning there is the potential for a low to be set in November or December.

This perspective was largely shared by Michaël van de Poppe, founder and CEO of Eight Global, who proposed that the market is currently in a period similar to that seen from November 2018 – February 2019.

“Most likely 2023 will be a breakout year towards $40,000-$48,000 before a new bull season starts in 2024,” Poppe said. “Ultimately, these prices are incredible to accumulate for Bitcoin.”

As for what price action could look like heading into 2024, cryptocurrency analyst il Capo of Crypto posted the following tweet that outlined the potential for a short pump to $21,000 before the price dumps to its final bottom in the $14,000 to $16,000 range.

$BTC simple

The price has varied between 19k and 20500 for 3 weeks. If you flip-flop randomly during the range, while losing money unnecessarily, it means you have no patience.

The main scenario is exactly the same. 21k first, then new lows (14k-16k) pic.twitter.com/aLgRJ0Jj2e

— il Capo Of Crypto (@CryptoCapo_) 11 October 2022

Altcoins in red

It was a down day for the broader crypto market, which failed to generate any noticeable momentum as Bitcoin struggled to hold on to the $19,000 support.

Daily performance in the cryptocurrency market. Source: Coin360

The only altcoin in the top 200 to manage a gain of more than 5% was dYdX (DYDX), which saw its price rise 9.07% to a daily high of $1.47.

The total cryptocurrency market cap is now $918 billion, and Bitcoin’s dominance rate is 39.7%.