Bitcoin (BTC) refused to give up $30,000 at the July 17 Wall Street open as observers placed bets on a step lower next.
Bitcoin traders line up downside targets
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView followed what one analyst called “boring” BTC price action into the new trading week.
After an equally quiet weekend, BTC/USD showed no signs of volatility amid a lack of catalysts for change across risk assets.
Twenty-six days within this range for #Bitcoin.
Boring. pic.twitter.com/JghJp1dCCQ
— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) July 17, 2023
“The market is in flux, and both camps are fighting for dominance,” on-chain monitoring resource Material Indicators wrote in part of its latest analysis, referring to a battle between Bitcoin bulls and bears.
“Everytime bears start to get some momentum, bulls replenish support at $30k. IMO, still too soon to declare a confirmed bull breakout, quite simply, because we haven’t even had a legit test of resistance. Time for patience and discipline.”
Material Indicators co-founder, Keith Alan, suggested that should $30,000 be lost, Bitcoin could find support at key trend lines such as the 200-week moving average at $27,000. This chimed with existing predictions from popular traders Cointelegraph reported on earlier.
Traders Skew and Daan Crypto Trades meanwhile noted a “heavy divergence” between spot and derivatives markets, with sellers apt to get the upper hand short term.
#Bitcoin Pretty heavy divergence between perps and spot here.
Perps pushing up while spot seems to be selling off. pic.twitter.com/Rhn8PuDlyP
— Daan Crypto Trades (@DaanCrypto) July 17, 2023
shorts pushing here, this is where sellers should gain control on market direction
contrarian view is shorts get trapped at lows (buyers step in = absorbing sell pressure) $BTC
— Skew Δ (@52kskew) July 17, 2023
“Clear bias for me here,” trader CJ continued alongside a chart with a short-term relief target between $30,000 and $31,000.
“Spike into inefficiency and reject – will expect range lows at least, if not breakdown from this range. Reclaim inefficiency (and thus, April high) then we have a solid recovery and we are so back again.”
Bad news for Bitcoin dominance?
Elsewhere, concerns over Bitcoin’s retreating crypto market dominance played on the minds of market participants.
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Popular trader Jibon called the dip below 50% dominance “not good” for BTC, while in its latest market update, trading firm QCP Capital tied U.S. regulatory events to even lower dominance to come.
$BTC.D losing 50% Dominance Support. That’s not good for $BTC. Let’s see what happen next. https://t.co/xRiQfjTnKT pic.twitter.com/eLr2CglpD6
— Trader_J (@Trader_Jibon) July 16, 2023
Bitcoin dominance, it wrote “is likely to break its recent uptrend and move lower again, at least until the BTC physical ETF decision, or when macro factors take over again.”
Last week’s legal rebuke of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over allegations that sales of altcoin XRP (XRP) represented unregistered securities was a mixed blessing for investors, it said.
Bitcoin, which QCP described as “being set up as the ‘anti-security’ coin,” could stand to lose to altcoins thanks to U.S. investor confidence returning.
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This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.