BTC Bears Eye a Return to Sub-$29,000 as ETF Fizz Goes Flat

Key Insights:

• On Friday, BTC gained 1.53% to end the day at $30,441.
• US economic indicators supported a bullish afternoon session and a BTC recovery from sub-$30,000.
• The technical indicators remained bearish for the near term, signaling a return to sub-$29,000.

On Friday, bitcoin (BTC) gained 1.53%. Partially reversing a 1.91% loss from Thursday, BTC ended the day at $30,441.

Bitcoin (BTC) Price Action

This morning, BTC was down 0.22% to $30,373. A bearish start to the day saw BTC fall from an early high of $30,441 to a low of $30,357.

Daily Chart

The Daily Chart showed a BTC/USD move through the psychological $30,000 resistance level. BTC/USD remained above the 50-day ($28,794) and 200-day ($26,265) EMAs, signaling bullish momentum over the near and long term.

Notably, the 50-day EMA continued to pull away from the 200-day EMA and reflected bullish momentum.

Looking at the 14-Daily RSI, the 58.43 reading signaled a bullish outlook and aligned with the 50-day and 200-day EMAs, supporting a run at the lower and upper levels of the $30,750 – $31,250 resistance band to test resistance at $31,500.

4-Hourly Chart

Looking at the 4-Hourly Chart, the BTC/USD faces strong resistance at the $30,500 psychological level. BTC/USD sits below the 50-day EMA ($30,504) while sitting above the 200-day EMA ($29,191), sending bearish near-term signals but bullish longer-term signals.

Significantly, the 50-day EMA narrowed to the 200-day EMA, signaling a fall through the 200-day EMA ($29,191) to bring the upper level of the $27,500 – $26,850 support band into view.

BTC/USD must hold above the 50-day EMA ($30,504) to support a breakout from the lower level of the resistance band and target $31,250 and the Thursday high of $31,504.

The 14-4H RSI reading of 46.43 indicates a bearish stance and aligns with the EMAs, with selling pressure outweighing buying pressure. Significantly, the RSI signals near-term bearish momentum and supports a fall through the 200-day EMA to bring the $27,500 – $26,850 support band into play.

US Jobs Report Delivered a Bullish Friday Session

It was another busy session on Friday, with the all-important US Jobs Report in focus. After an impressive ADP nonfarm employment report, the US Jobs Report was more lackluster. However, wage growth numbers supported a hawkish Fed, curtailing a BTC breakout.

While the US economic calendar provided direction, Binance and ETF-related news did the rounds on the crypto news wires.

The Wall Street Journal and Reuters reported the news of Binance executives leaving the firm and the platform cutting staff as regulators target the global exchange.

However, Binance CEO CZ played down the executive-level departures, saying,

“More FUD about some departures. Yes, there is turnover (at every company). But the reasons dreamed up by the news are completely wrong.”

CZ added,

“As markets and the global environment for crypto changes, as our organization evolves, and as personal situations change, there is turnover at every company.”

While CZ tackled the media, JPMorgan (JPM) also hit the news, possibly in retort to Blackrock Inc. (BKL) CEO Larry Fink’s labeling BTC an international asset and calling it digital gold. The US banking giant poured cold water on hopes of a surge in institutional money inflows if the SEC approves one, some, or all the ETF applications.

BTC responded favorably to the ETF filings but has since pulled back with a return to sub-$30,000 on the prospect of higher borrowing costs.

The Day Ahead

It is a quiet Saturday session. With no US economic indicators to consider, BTC will be in the hands of the crypto news wires.

Investors should track ETF chatter, with Binance and SEC v Ripple-related news likely to also be focal points.