BTC price

BTC price sets new 19-month high in ‘choreographed’ Bitcoin whale move

Bitcoin beats its previous record to near $42,500, but all may not be what it seems when it comes to BTC price strength.

Bitcoin (BTC) returned above $42,000 on Dec.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: TradingView

Analysis: New Bitcoin bids are not “organic”

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed a BTC price rebound taking BTC/USD to highs of $42,498 on Bitstamp.

These beat the 19-month peak set the day prior, with retracements being short-lived amid a general atmosphere of excitement throughout crypto.

As Bitcoin continued to reclaim ground lost in mid-2022, however, warnings over the rally’s sustainability continued to flow in.

In a dedicated thread about the phenomenon on X (formerly Twitter), trading resource Material Indicators explained that from order book liquidity cues, it appeared that these traders could be deliberately coordinating higher prices in order to sell into an uptrend with minimal slippage.

The more liquidity available near the intended selling point, the better value a major sell-off would bring.

“We saw the exact game played over the wknd with a $50M buy wall at $35k, and it often works.

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How much is Bitcoin worth today?

Bitcoin is worth around $42,000 today, with BTC price rising 12% over the past week following Jerome Powell’s interest rate guidance.

The price of Bitcoin (BTC) is fluctuating around $42,000 on Dec.

Bitcoin, gold price booms on rate cut hopes

BTC’s price kickstarted the new week by climbing above $41,400 for the first time in 17 months. In doing so, the cryptocurrency followed gains in the gold market, its traditional safe-haven rival whose price rose to a new record-high on Dec.

BTC/USD vs. Source: TradingView 

Rate-cut expectations may have served as the common denominator for Bitcoin and gold’s price rallies this week. Notably, investors have become more confident about a Federal Reserve pivot on interest rates after Jerome Powell’s speech on Dec.

The Fed chairman said they have raised interest rates high enough to fully combat inflation.

For instance, as of Dec.

Target rate probabilities for March 20, 2024 Fed meeting. Source: CME

Rate cuts have proven to be bullish for Bitcoin in recent years.

BTC’s price is also gaining momentum amid increasing chances that the first spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the U.S. will be approved by January 2024.

15% BTC price pullback in play

Bitcoin’s price rally in recent months has created a broad divergence with its daily relative strength index (RSI), indicating that its buying momentum has been slowing down at local price highs.

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Bitcoin short-term holder sales near $5B as profit-taking mimics 2021

Bitcoin makes Christmas come early for its more speculative investors, with BTC price still facing “early bull market” resistance.

Bitcoin (BTC) has seen a mass profit-taking event which rivals its $69,000 all-time highs, new analysis reveals.

In a post on Dec.

Bitcoin speculators sell as if all-time highs are back

BTC price gains have delivered a welcome reward to hodlers across the board in recent days as 19-month highs appeared.

While old hands are retaining their share of the BTC supply, at the other end of the spectrum, so-called short-term holders (STHs) have been busy locking in profits on their investments.

STHs refer to entities holding a given part of the supply for 155 days or less. They correspond to the more speculative class of Bitcoin investors, and their cost basis has formed a key BTC price support in 2023.

Now, with BTC/USD up almost 15% in a week, the time has come to reassess their exposure, data shows.

According to Van Straten, the total volume transfer between STHs and exchanges — coins being prepared for sale — has come close to $5 billion in the four days to Dec.

“Bitcoin recorded a 7% gain, culminating in a year-to-date peak of $38,800 by Dec.

“This milestone ignited the most considerable profit realization from short-term holders seen in recent times since November 2021.”

Bitcoin STH transfer volume to exchanges chart.

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BTC price levels to watch as Bitcoin whales ‘lure’ market to $42K

Bitcoin analysis is getting more and more suspicious of the “up only” BTC price action in recent days.

Bitcoin (BTC) faces sharp volatility as the new week begins with BTC price action focusing on $42,000 — can it endure?

The largest cryptocurrency, fresh from weekend gains that topped 10%, is still keeping traders guessing over its next move.

While a trip to $40,000 was well anticipated, the question now is whether or not the latest move represents the beginning of a new trend or, conversely, a new bull trap.

Appraisals currently vary widely, with bullish and bearish perspectives battling for vindication.

Cointelegraph takes a look at the most important support and resistance levels now in play after recent BTC price performance reshapes the market landscape.

BTC/USD is currently trading at around $41,600, per data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView, having hit 19-month highs of $42,160 earlier on the day.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart.

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Breakout or $40K bull trap? 5 things to know in Bitcoin this week

Bitcoin surges past the key $40,000 amid a macro liquidity boost, but traders’ predictions include a BTC price crash of 25% or more.

Bitcoin (BTC) starts the first week of December looking better than it has since early 2022 — at over $40,000.

BTC price action is delighting bulls already as the month begins, with the weekly close providing the first trip above the $40,000 mark since April last year.

Shorts are getting wiped and liquidity taken as the bull run sees its latest boost on the back of macroeconomic changes and anticipation of the United States’ first spot price exchange-traded fund (ETF).

Despite misgivings and some predicting a major price retracement, Bitcoin continues to offer little respite for sellers, who continually miss out on profits or are left waiting on the sidelines for an entry price that never comes.

The party mood is not just reflected on markets — Bitcoin miners are busy preparing for the halving, and with the hash rate already at all-time highs of its own, the trend is set to continue this week.

Is there more upside left, or is Bitcoin getting ahead of itself?

This is the question that longtime market participants will be asking in the coming days as legacy markets open and adjust to a post-$40,000 BTC price.

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BTC price nears $40K as as Bitcoin trader eyes return to all-time high

Bitcoin beats out sellers to liquidate $60 million of shorts in two days, with BTC price acting just several hundred dollars from $40,000.

Bitcoin (BTC) held closer to the $40,000 mark on Dec.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: TradingView

Bitcoin leaves $60 million in shorts hanging

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView tracked a fresh BTC price surge, which took BTC/USD to new 2023 highs of $39,730.

These built on upward momentum, which had entered days prior, as Bitcoin hit $39,000 for the first time since mid-2022.

With derivatives leading into the end of the Wall Street trading week, commentators had argued that spot buyers needed to step up to maintain momentum.

In part of coverage on X (formerly Twitter), popular trader Skew suggested that “someone just ran all shorts across the board seemingly on most pairs.”

This in turn placed BTC price behavior around the weekly open in question — CME Bitcoin futures closed the week at $39,225, leaving a gap between there and spot price, which would normally be “filled” via a dip.

Analyzing the status quo, however, fellow trader Daan Crypto Trades predicted that this time would be different.

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Bitcoin price hits $39K as Powell stirs bets Fed rate hikes are over

Bitcoin reaches levels not seen since May 2022 amid an excited market reaction to the latest Fed inflation commentary.

Bitcoin (BTC) hit $39,000 for the first time since mid-2022 on Dec.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: TradingView

Powell: Calling end to hikes would be “premature”

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView confirmed a new 19-month BTC price high of $39,000 on Bitstamp.

Bitcoin bulls, already in a strong position, beat out resistance as Fed Chair Jerome Powell took to the stage at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia for a scheduled appearance.

“The FOMC is strongly committed to bringing inflation down to 2% over time and to keeping policy restrictive until we’re confident that inflation is on a path to that objective,” he said in prepared remarks.

“It would be premature to conclude with confidence that we have achieved a sufficiently restrictive stance, or to speculate on when policy might ease.”

While keeping his tone cautious, Powell appeared to boost risk asset sentiment with his comments on the current state of the U.S.

Reacting, financial commentary resource The Kobeissi Letter was among those with a more sober take on what the Fed might do in the future.

“Their narrative has not changed since last year, but markets continue to call for a Fed pivot,” it wrote in part of a post on X (formerly Twitter).

“As we have stated before, the Fed would rather spark a mild recession than risk a resurgence of inflation.

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Bitcoin sees best monthly close in 19 months as BTC price taps $38K

BTC price strength endures the end of November, with Bitcoin beginning the new month with a trip toward the top of its local range.

Bitcoin (BTC) returned to $38,000 on Dec.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: TradingView

Bitcoin bears fail to spark monthly close sell-off

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView tracked impressive overnight BTC price performance, which held key support.

The close came in at just over $37,700, with bid liquidity preserving the intraday range and avoiding a last-minute sell-off, per order book data from trading resource Material Indicators.

BTC/USDT order book data. Source: Material Indicators/X

“Monthly close looks pretty good closing above $35K,” popular trader Skew reacted on X (formerly Twitter).

“Could see some multi week compression between $35K – $39K.”

BTC/USD 1-month chart. Source: Skew/X

Skew added that major resistance on monthly timeframes now lies higher — at $47,000 and around the 2021 all-time high of $69,000.

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Bitcoin eyes best November since 2020 as PCE fails to move BTC price

Bitcoin remains on track to seal its highest monthly close since May 2022, but BTC’s price is stubbornly rangebound.

Bitcoin (BTC) brushed off fresh United States macro data into the Nov.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: TradingView

PCE keeps Fed pivot pressure alive

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC price movements sticking to a narrow intraday range below $38,000.

After a failed breakout the day prior, hopes were high that the Federal Reserve’s “preferred” inflation metric, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Index, would help fuel volatility.

This, however, had not come to pass at the time of writing, with November’s final Wall Street open still to come.

PCE came in broadly in line with expectations — a boost for the Fed’s monetary tightening and reinforcement of declining inflation.

Querying whether interest rates might now begin to fall — the key takeaway for risk assets — financial commentary resource The Kobeissi Letter nonetheless stayed cautious.

“Another sign inflation is falling but still above the Fed’s 2% target.

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Bitcoin traders in ‘disbullief’ as analyst predicts $30K BTC retest

Bitcoin should dip to cement the $30,000 flip to support, analysis argues as bullish BTC price takes stay in play.

Bitcoin (BTC) consolidated into the weekend as market participants stayed optimistic about further gains.

BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView

“Most still sitting on the sidelines” with Bitcoin

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD hovering near $30,500 on April 15.

The pair had finished the Wall Street trading week on a less volatile note along with fairly flat United States equities.

With the ten-month highs of $31,035 remaining in force, traders and analysts considered the options for how BTC price action could play out next.

“We’re going higher. Much higher,” Credible Crypto summarized, retweeting a chart of BTC/USD and funding rates from popular technical analyst Murfski.

“Most still sitting on the sidelines, funding still relatively flat. This is disbullief depicted on a chart.”

Murfski had described being long BTC in 2023 as “incredibly cheap” thanks to year-to-date gains of over 70%.

“Being long still doesn’t feel like a crowded trade yet…,” he added.

BTC/USD vs. funding rates chart. Source: Murfski/ Twitter

As Cointelegraph reported, $33,000 was a popular near-term target toward the end of the week. To the downside, however, $30,000 was now the all-important support level.

Related: Healthy Bitcoin rally: What does a margin lending ratio drop mean for BTC price?

“Expecting a sweep at $29.6K as likely, before we’ll continue the uptrend,” Michaël van de Poppe, founder and CEO of trading firm Eight, predicted in part of analysis on the day.

Trader and analyst Rekt Capital was also convinced about upside continuation as the ultimate result, calling Bitcoin “well positioned” on daily timeframes.

BTC/USD annotated chart. Source: Rekt Capital/ Twitter

Big wallet balances start shrinking

The trip above $30,000 meanwhile sparked some “unsurprising” shifts in wallet dynamics.

Related: Latest Bitcoin price data suggests double top above $200K in 2025

The number of BTC addresses in profit hit 16-month highs on April 14, according to data from on-chain analytics firm Glassnode.

At over 33 million, in-profit addresses thus neared their 38 million tally from November 2021, when BTC/USD hit its current all-time high of $69,000.

Trading suite Decentrader nonetheless struck a more cautionary tone as it revealed large-balance wallet numbers declining.

“Unsurprisingly, we’ve seen some changes in wallets holding Bitcoin as we approached $30k,” it noted.

“Wallets holding >100btc saw a very significant drop of 200, virtually overnight. The increase we saw in December has now been reversed entirely.”

Bitcoin wallets holding 100 BTC or more chart. Source: Decentrader/ Twitter

Further data showed 1,000+ BTC wallet numbers remaining steady through the return to $30,000.

Bitcoin wallets holding 1,000 BTC or more chart. Source: Decentrader/ Twitter

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