Bitcoin – Can the Bulls Hold on, or Is Another Weekend Sell-Off Coming?

Bitcoin slipped by 0.65% on Friday, partially reversing a 0.87% gain from Thursday, to end the day at $3,628.9.

By historical standards, it was another day within tight ranges. A bearish morning saw Bitcoin fall from an early morning intraday high $3,663.5 to a late morning intraday low $3,580 before recovering.

The reversal saw Bitcoin fall through the day’s first major support level at $3,604.33 to call on sub-$3,600 support for a 6^th consecutive day.

Recovering through the afternoon, Bitcoin managed to move back through to $3,600 levels to strike an afternoon high $3,634.1 before easing back, the morning intraday high $3,663.5 having fallen short of the first major resistance level at $3,686.23.

For the current week, the day’s loss reduced the week’s gains to just 0.91%, Bitcoin seeing red in 3 of the 5 days in a week that has seen a spread of just $220.

Elsewhere, it was a mixed bag for the top 10 through the week, with Stellar’s Lumen and Ethereum seeing the heaviest losses, Monday through Friday, the pair down by 3.39% and by 2.12% respectively. Ripple’s XRP and Bitcoin Cash SV, were also in the red, the pair down by 0.6% and by 0.42% respectively.

On the up was Tron’s TRX that continued to lead the way for the top 10, rallying by 15.7% through the week, which included a 1.3% slide on Friday.

Litecoin and EOS also saw solid gains, Monday through Friday, the pair up by 6.93% and by 5.04% respectively.

Thanks to a number of the majors, the total crypto market cap avoided heavy losses, with the market cap falling from $119.72bn to $119.64bn, the market managing to recover from a Tuesday low $118.01bn.

On the news front, following news of the VanEck Bitcoin ETF withdrawal, it was all about Davos late in the week, with a number of anti-cryptos talking out against the likes of Bitcoin, whilst acknowledging some of the benefits of Blockchain tech. With the crypto bashing coming from Davos, banking giant JPMorgan also chimed in by announcing that the value of cryptos is unproven. One of the bank’s bearish forecast now sits at $1,260.

Investor resilience has provided much needed support to the likes of Bitcoin, with the particularly bearish forecasts and negative commentary largely falling on deaf ears. If a seasoned analyst made similar claims to one of the FAANGs, the market reaction would be quite different to the crypto market and Bitcoin in particular, which has moved within the tight ranges seen through the week.

The broader market will be in for a rude awakening should sensitivity to analyst commentary begin to kick in.

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At the time of writing, Bitcoin was up by just 0.14% to $3,634.0, a morning low $3,625 and high $3,643.1 leaving the major support and resistance levels untested in the early hours.

The Bitcoin bulls will be looking for another weekend rally to reverse some of the January losses further, Bitcoin down 5.31% to the end of Friday. Investors may will be more cautious going into this weekend, following last Sunday’s sell-off, with any pullback to $3,500 levels to question near-term direction.