• Bitcoin (BTC) continued to try and crack the $17,000 mark on Jan. 4 as an “extremely tight” trading zone held firm.
• Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD hitting $16,906 on Bitstamp, up $300 from the previous day’s low.
• Bitcoin analyst Filbfilb argued that the 50-day moving average (MA) needed to hold for bulls, with the immediate range support and resistance levels at $15,500 and $18,000, respectively.
Bitcoin (BTC) is continuing its attempt to breach the $17,000 mark as an “extremely tight” trading range persists. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD hitting $16,906 on Bitstamp, up $300 from the previous day’s low. The positive start to the year on Wall Street has served to lift the sideways crypto asset.
Bitcoin analyst, Filbfilb, co-founder of trading suite DecenTrader, argued that the 50-day moving average (MA) needed to hold for bulls, with the immediate range support and resistance levels at $15,500 and $18,000, respectively. The analyst believes that a favorable Consumer Price Index (CPI) release for the United States next week could provide the catalyst for BTC to break the $18,000 level.
The analyst commented that “Bitcoin needs to maintain the 50 DMA and break last week’s high but a trip there seems possible heading into the CPI data. At the moment we are in the upper range of last week’s price action.”
Bitcoin’s attempt to break into new highs has been met with a lot of optimism from the crypto community, especially as the world’s largest cryptocurrency continues to benefit from increased institutional involvement. Despite the positive sentiment, however, the asset has been stuck in a tight range over the last few weeks.
As the BTC/USD chart shows, the asset’s price has been struggling to break above the $17,000 level as investors remain cautious in the face of resistance. Regardless, the asset continues to remain above the all-important $15,000 level, which is seen as a key psychological level and is likely to be the point at which any further price action will be triggered.
It remains to be seen whether the upcoming CPI release will be the catalyst for a move higher, or if the market will remain in its current range over the coming weeks. Either way, the crypto market will remain on edge as it awaits the next move from Bitcoin.