Bitcoin approaches Christmas with solid gains

• Cryptocurrency market is consolidating with a positive bias.

• Bitcoin and major altcoins had one of the best weeks this year.

Cryptocurrency market had a really good week as the overwhelming majority of top-10 digital assets managed to recover from this year lows. The total value of coins in circulation has reached $142 billion, which is about $40 billion higher than a week ago.

Bitcoin (BTC) gained over 30% since the recent low; however, the palm of victory belongs to Bitcoin Cash (BCH) that catapulted above $200 and returned to the fourth place in the cryptocurrency rating. The coin is 150% higher than a week ago. Tron (TRX) gained 65% to trade at $0.021 at the time of writing, while Ethereum (ETH) and EOS also became more expensive than a week ago. ETH/USD is trading at $150 after a short-lived spike above $154 handle; EOS/USD has settled marginally above critical $3.00.

A strong positive momentum improved forecasts, though some experts stay cautious. Thus, Peter Brandt, a 71-year-old trading veteran, said that Bitcoin's move above $4,000 was just a dead-cat bounce. He believes that the price will bottom out somewhere closer to $1,200. The cautious approach is understandable as the market has made several false recovery attempts during this year.

 

 

Tanya Abrosimova

FXStreet

David

Bitcoin Price Weekly Analysis – BTC Primed To Test $5,000

Key Points

• Bitcoin price gained pace recently and broke the $3,580 and $3,780 resistances against the US Dollar.

• There is a major symmetrical triangle forming with resistance at $4,080 on the 4-hours chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).

The pair is likely to break the $4,080 and $4,150 resistance levels to rally towards $4,500 or $5,000.

Bitcoin price is placed in an uptrend above $3,580 against the US Dollar. BTC/USD is likely to extend the current bullish wave towards $4,500 or $5,000.

Bitcoin Price Analysis

This past week, bitcoin price started a solid upward move above the $3,200 resistance against the US Dollar. The BTC/USD pair surged above the $3,580 and $3,780 resistance levels. There was even a close above the $3,780 barrier and the 100 simple moving average (4-hours). An intermediate high was formed near $4,175 and recently the price corrected lower. It broke the $3,900 level, but the $3,780 level acted as a solid support.

The price started a fresh upside and broke the $3,900 resistance. It even broke the 50% Fib retracement level of the recent decline from the $4,175 high to $3,778 low. More importantly, there is a major symmetrical triangle forming with resistance at $4,080 on the 4-hours chart of the BTC/USD pair. The triangle seems to be a bullish continuation pattern towards the $4,175 and $4,300 levels. A successful break above the $4,100 and $4,150 levels is needed for further gains. Once there is a break above $4,175, the price could rally towards $4,500 or $5,000.

Looking at the chart, BTC price remains well supported on dips near the $3,900 and $3,780 levels. As long as there is no close above the $3,580 pivot, the price is likely to surge towards $4,200, $4,500 or even $5,000.

Looking at the technical indicators:

4-hours MACD – The MACD for BTC/USD is about to move into the bullish zone.

4-hours RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI is well above the 60 level.

Major Support Level – $3,780

Major Resistance Level – $4,175

 

AAYUSH JINDAL | DECEMBER 23, 2018 | 5:00 AM

 

David

 

Bitcoin – Cup and handle in the making?

• BTC in the process of making bullish cup and handle pattern.

• Needs to consolidate recent gains for further gains to occur.

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurreny by market capitalisation, is in the process of forming a cup and handle pattern, which is a bullish sign for the prices. The only thing required is price consolidation to complete the formation of handle and then a breakout above the line of a cup.

BTC/USD is down seven cents of a percent at $3,814 and trading in less than 3 percent range for the day in a low volatility weekend trading – good sign for the cup and handle formation to take shape on 360-minute chart of BTC.

Prices have declined a bit after recent gains and few more bars of consolidation on this time scale and a breakout above $4,160-70 is all that the bulls need for the prices to break out. Target of this breakout would be around $5,200. But, for the longer price trend to change up, bulls will need some more strength to cross past $5,790, which is its 21 weeks SMA.

BTC/USD 360-minute chart:

 

Manoj B Rawal

FXStreet

 

David

Bitcoin Outdoes Itself; Moves Beyond $4,000

At press time, bitcoin has pushed beyond the $4,000 mark for the first time in two weeks. What has started out as an ongoing “slump ride,” the asset has seemingly found enough strength to challenge present resistance levels and fight back against the ever-present bears.

Bitcoin has been performing poorly for about a month. Trouble began in early November when the currency fell from the $6,000 range – where it had been all summer and autumn – down to the high $5,000s, likely in anticipation of the upcoming bitcoin cash hard fork that occurred prior to Thanksgiving week. From there, the currency fell into the $4,000 range, and then $3,000 once the fork occurred.

Bitcoin Is Gaining Some Ground

Bitcoin cash pitted several industry leaders, i.e. Craig Wright and Roger Ver, against one another. Though it has forked in the past, none of those events led to the controversy enthusiasts witnessed this time around. The atmosphere in the crypto space has been one of confusion and skepticism, partially leading to further drops in bitcoin’s price. Several analysts saw the asset falling to $1,500 or less before signs of recovery would potentially appear.

Just last week, the father of crypto fell to approximately $3,175, its lowest position in approximately 15 months. However, with this sudden (and meteoric) rise in such a short amount of time, the currency appears to be challenging the barricades that have placed themselves in its path. The big question is whether it can keep this momentum going, or if things will crash and burn further.

Interestingly, these good price waves are also affecting bitcoin cash. The currency fell to the low $300s following the controversial fork, but the descent didn’t quite stop there. Eventually, it had made its way below the $150 and $100 marks.

At the time of writing, however, the currency has managed to retain its position as a leading asset and is now testing the $150 resistance level against the U.S. dollar. It is also being reported that percentage gains for bitcoin cash are higher than those of major competitor’s like Ethereum and Ripple.

In the past, we have seen similar December rallies for bitcoin and its crypto cousins. Last year, for instance, is when the currency reached its all-time high of nearly $20,000. For the most part, it’s still in a relatively low position, but figures like Charles Hayter – chief executive of Crypto Compare – suggest that now is the time to get back in and buy. Could this mark the beginning of a very positive 2019?

Should You be Buying Bitcoin Again?

Speaking with CNBC, Hayter explained:

“The maxim of buy when there’s blood on the streets could be influencing some to gain exposure at this nadir prior to the new year.”

 

NICK MARINOFF · DECEMBER 21, 2018 · 12:00 AM

David

Bitcoin (BTC) Daily Price Forecast – December 20

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BTC/USD Medium-term Trend: Bullish

Resistance Levels: $6,800, $6,900, $7,000

Support levels: $3,700, $3,600, $3,500

Yesterday, December 19, the price of Bitcoin was in a bullish trend. The price of Bitcoin is above the 12-day EMA and the 26-day EMA indicating that price is likely to rise. The crypto’s price reached the high of $3,950 but was resisted at the $4,000 price level.

The BTC price is now retracing from the recent high. If price retraces, it may retrace to the moving averages and resume its uptrend. However, if price retraces and breaks 12-day EMA and the 26-day EMA, the price of Bitcoin will resume its downward trend. Meanwhile, the Stochastic is in the range below the 40% range. This implies that the price of Bitcoin has a bearish momentum

 

BTC/USD Short-term Trend: Ranging

On the 1-hour chart, the price of Bitcoin was in a bearish trend. The price of Bitcoin is now below the 12-day EMA and the 26-day EMA which indicates that price is in the bearish trend zone. The MACD line and the signal line are below the zero line which indicates a sell signal. Also, the stochastic indicator is in the range below the 80% range. That is, the BTC price has a bearish momentum and a sell signal.

 

By Azeez M – December 20, 2018

David

Here are two reasons to buy Bitcoin right now

• Bitcoin long-term seller just closed his short position with a profit.

• Candlestick pattern on a daily chart hints on a trend reversal.

Bitcoin bulls have another reason to rejoice. Mark Dow, a former International Monetary Fund economist and, more importantly, the guy who entered Bitcoin short right at the top of the last year's rally, just closed his position.

“I’m done. I don’t want to try to ride this thing to zero. I don’t want to try to squeeze more out of the lemon. I don’t want to think about it. It seemed like the right time,” he said in phone interview with Bloomberg.

He explained that he saw some psychological hallmarks during the euphoria that surrounded Bitcoin last December. Those signals told him that the market had reached a breaking point.

"People buy into these assets because they believe the narrative, and you look at the asset prices to see if the narrative is weakening or changing. It’s not easy — you could be wrong, but that’s the sign you look for. But it doesn’t mean you’ll get it right," he added.

Currently, BTC/USD is changing hands at $3,730, gaining over 6% on a day-to-day basis. The digital coin No. 1 has been growing strongly for the third day in a row, creating an exciting candlestick pattern on a daily chart.

Three White Soldiers are on the assault mission

On the daily chart, a candlestick pattern "Three White Soldiers" is being formed. If Bitcoin manages to maintain the rally during the day, we will have and strong long-term reversal signal. "White Soldiers has come after a short period of indecisive trading that followed a strong bearish trend. Big bullish candles with small shadows imply that bulls are growing stronger and ready to snatch the control over the situation. For the pattern to be confirmed, we will need to see a daily close above $3,800 handle.

 

Tanya Abrosimova FX Street

David

CNBC’s Brian Kelly Is Reportedly Short on Bitcoin

Brian Kelly – often described as CNBC’s “uber” bitcoin bull – is allegedly short bitcoin.

The news came forth in a new podcast published on Zerohedge.com. The bitcoin market has been seriously crashing over the past few days. Late last week, the currency struck the $3,100 range for the first time in over 15 months, though at press time, the price has risen back up to roughly $3,400. The currency does appear to be showing signs of recovering, though it’s hard to say how long it will last or where it will wind up at the end of 2018.

Bitcoin in Crisis?

The podcast – entitled “Quoth the Raven,” taken from Edgar Allan Poe’s most famous poem – says that Brian Kelly is short bitcoin, and potentially has been for some time. Kelly has served as a cryptocurrency analyst with CNBC for several years. On a recent program, Kelly allegedly claimed that he was “net short,” something he has yet to state in the past.

Only a few months ago, Kelly purportedly stated that he’s so confident in BTC and its crypto-cousins that he’s placed approximately 90 percent of his wealth into digital assets. The podcast was particularly critical of Kelly’s casual attitude when announcing that he was short. The podcast speaker jokes that the asset has not entered a “bear market,” but is stuck in an “as*hole market,” and that the bear has come down crashing at 15,000 miles per hour. At the time of writing, bitcoin has fallen by over 80 percent since it reached its all-time high of nearly $20,000 last December.

In addition, the podcast claims that Kelly repeatedly pumped BTC to potentially get listeners interested and investing in the currency to boost its price.

The father of crypto has been falling steadily since the beginning of the year. Last summer, the asset spent most of the time hovering in the $6,000 range. In June, it temporarily fell below the $6,000 mark and entered $5,000 territory, causing widespread panic.

Kelly, however, remained adamant that bitcoin was not ready to die, alleging that a series of recent hacks and selloffs were responsible for the sudden drop.

Bitcoin Is Still Alive

On CNBC, he commented:

“This is not the funeral for bitcoin, whatsoever. Let’s put this in perspective. Do you know where we were a year ago? $2,500. Bear markets, we don’t know where they end. It doesn’t mean that bitcoin can’t go lower, but this is by no means the funeral for bitcoin.”
 

NICK MARINOFF · DECEMBER 18, 2018 · 12:13 AM

David

Did you want to buy Bitcoin at $3k last year, what about now?

BTCUSD trading at around $17,000, what is the first question you would have asked yourself? Why didn’t I buy at $3,000 just 4 months earlier in August?

A week later as the markets reached there now historical high of over $20,000. Some of those questions would have in many cases hinted at frustration, disappointment and even anger in missing out on what many called “ a once in a generation” opportunity.

Those who did enjoy the notion of triumph, and were beneficiaries of the price rise would have had even greater hopes for future peaks. $50,000, $75,000 and even $100,000 to 1 Bitcoin in the coming year (2018) were forecasted. So now with the market on the edges of $3000 once again. What questions are being asked now? Or better yet what answers are we getting to the questions asked a year ago.

The questions the markets are asking now is where are those who thought they missed out on the opportunity? BTCUSD, and crypto coins in general has been the big bear market story of 2018, many speculators saw the initial rise of crypto’s as the dawn of a new age in finance and civilization, where no one establishment dicated the rules. Many may still believe this to be the case, however after falling $14,000 in value YTD even the biggest optimists are having there views tested. Have traders been scared off? Stopped out of positions, or eagerly awaiting the turnaround of turnarounds before running out of margin?

The rally in BTCUSD last year was spurred not by radical innovation, or a regulatory change, but by the herd. A lot of people wanting to believe, and betting on there beliefs. Recently, the belief has seen the volumes of selling reach there lowest since 2015, where BTCUSD traded below $300. However with most markets, the next thought is when will the bleeding stop? “It cannot go down forever”, where is it’s floor? As you can see from the chart above we are current trading at the support $3,035, and using the RSI we see it trading below 30, meaning oversold. Does this mean buyers are nearby? Like a boxing day sale where “70% off” is plastered across displays, and ques outside department stores at 6AM in the morning ready to ransack. On a daily time frame the 10/25 day moving averages show a potential upwards cross, which many see as the potential of a bullish run.

Now as Christmas arrives, and we prepare presents for our loved ones, and tell our children Santa has answered there wish. What about ours? Are we seeing the signs of a future bull run in crypto? With the opportunity at “70% off” its true value? Or will we enter the new year like most kids when they find out Santa doesn’t exist? Like a year ago, although the technicals may point to a pending rally, only the belief of the herd can see this be validated or shutdown. Whatever your view, this could be an interesting one to watch in the next few weeks.

 

Eliman Dambell

Tradeview Markets

 

David

Bitcoin Price Weekly Analysis – BTC’s Short Term Rebound Likely

Key Points

• Bitcoin price traded to a new yearly low at $3,126 and later corrected a few points against the US Dollar.

• There was a break above a key bearish trend line with resistance at $3,220 on the 4-hours chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).

• The pair may perhaps correct higher in the short term towards the $3,320 or $3,380 resistance.

Bitcoin price is forming a short term base near $3,120 against the US Dollar. BTC/USD is likely to test the $3,380-3,400 resistance zone before declining once again.

 

Bitcoin Price Analysis

This past week, bitcoin price remained in a slow and steady downtrend from the $3,640 high against the US Dollar. The BTC/USD pair traded lower and broke the $3,400 and $3,320 support levels. The decline gained pace and the price traded to a new yearly low at $3,126. Later, it consolidated above $3,126 for a few sessions before correcting higher. It moved above the $3,200 resistance, but it is well below the 100 simple moving average (4-hours).

During the rise, it almost broke the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the last slide from the $3,642 high to $3,126 low. Moreover, there was a break above a key bearish trend line with resistance at $3,220 on the 4-hours chart of the BTC/USD pair. However, it seems like buyers are struggling to gain pace above the $3,250 level. The first hurdle for buyers is near the $3,320 level (the previous support). The next is $3,380 and the 50% Fib retracement level of the last slide from the $3,642 high to $3,126 low. A successful break above $3,380 and the $3,400 is needed for buyers to gain bullish momentum.

Looking at the chart, BTC price could correct higher towards $3,380, but more upsides won’t be easy. On the downside, the $3,200 and $3,126 levels are decent supports, followed by $3,000.
 

Looking at the technical indicators:

4-hours MACD – The MACD for BTC/USD is slowly moving in the bullish zone.

4-hours RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI is just near the 50 level.

Major Support Level – $3,200

Major Resistance Level – $3,400

 

AAYUSH JINDAL | DECEMBER 16, 2018 | 5:00 AM

David

Is Bitcoin dying? Not so fast, Researchers refute predictions of Crypto Market Demise

Each time the cryptocurrency market crashes, social media is filled with predictions of BTC slipping to zero and plenty of people saying “I told you so.” 2018’s bear market has caused many to flee from the cryptocurrency space and emboldened people like economist Nouriel Roubini who has been a harsh critic of Bitcoin and altcoins for years.

He’s called Bitcoin the mother of all scams, has referred to the cryptocurrency market as a “sinking cesspool” and just last week he tweeted that The sector is on its last legs. “If it all sounds funereal it is because Bitcoin and all other crypto-currencies are on the way a funeral march!”

Even some known Bitcoin and cryptocurrency advocates have recently made some remarks that could be taken in a negative light. In the last few weeks, Bitcoin bull and billionaire investor Mike Novogratz said that the ICO market was dead and the young crypto millionaire Erik Finman said the digital asset was in trouble.

Despite all the doom and gloom that has resulted from this extended bear market, researchers from the University of Cambridge who took part in the second Global Cryptoasset Benchmarking Study have some positive news regarding the future price of Bitcoin and the overall health of the cryptocurrency market.

They think that cryptocurrency is here to stay and that there are too many planned developments for the market to fall apart now.

“Statements proclaiming the death of the crypto-asset industry have been made after every global ecosystem bubble,” the researchers stated. “While it is true that the 2017 bubble was the largest in bitcoin’s history, the market capitalization of both bitcoin and the crypto-asset ecosystem still exceeds its January 2017 levels–prior to the start of the bubble.”

The study found that the burst bubble might have caused a delay in the development of many projects, but the industry has pushed forward and many projects may make breakthroughs sooner rather than later. “The speculation of the death of the market and ecosystem has been greatly exaggerated, and so it seems likely that the future expansion plans of industry participants will, at most, be delayed.”

As the community awaits institutional powerhouses like Goldman Sachs to enter the scene and projects like Bakkt to cause a flood of billions to rush into the crypto space, many teams continue to work on the useful applications that will actually usher in adoption and bring cryptocurrency to the masses.

 

By Stephen Brown – December 15, 2018

David