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Bitcoin Goes Lateral as Bitcoin Cash Steals the Show… Again

By:
Bob Mason
Updated: Apr 25, 2018, 09:16 UTC

Bitcoin struggled for direction through the weekend and has moved sideways through the early part of today, with Bitcoin Cash the main attraction in what could be yet another major rally through the week, investors now beginning to shift alliances.

ETH/USD daily chart, April 19, 2018

Bitcoin slipped 0.89% on Sunday, reversing Saturday’s 0.58% gain, to end the day at $8,784.7, the moves through the weekend seeing Bitcoin gain 6.67% for the week, Monday through Sunday.

An intraday high $9,048.2 fell short of the first major resistance level of $9,117.33, whilst Bitcoin managed to break through to $9,000 level for a 2nd consecutive day and only for the second time since 25th March.

It was a day of two halves for Bitcoin, which had managed to make reasonable gains through the morning to only see a pullback through the afternoon, with Bitcoin falling to an intraday low $8,751.1 in the final hours of the weekend, the cryptomarket failing to deliver a weekend rally, Bitcoin Cash taking all the limelight.

The morning’s low held above the first major support level of $8,664.3 and 23.6% FIB Retracement Level of $8,462.8 to continue supporting the bull trend formed back at the 6th April swing lo $6,500.2, with the gains coming in spite of Bitcoin Cash continuing to lure in the Bitcoin faithful.

Of interest will be how the dynamics shift once the Bitcoin Cash hard fork has taken place next month and whether Bitcoin can make a move back through to $10,000 levels, $9,000 a struggle at present in spite of improved sentiment across the broader market.

Much will depend on the smart money and that may ultimately be an issue for Bitcoin.

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BTC/USD 23/04/18 Hourly Chart

At the time of writing, Bitcoin was up 0.61% to $8,845.5, with Bitcoin going sideways through the morning, an intraday low $8,769 and high $8,893 leaving major support and resistance levels untested through the early part of the day.

With Bitcoin Cash on yet another run this morning, Bitcoin is struggling to find buyers without a material pullback and the same issues may be faced through much of the day, altcoins providing significantly better opportunities than Bitcoin at present.

For the day ahead, a move through to the day’s first major resistance level of $8,971.57 would support a break out to the 2nd resistance level of $9,158.43, with Bitcoin needing to hold on to $9,000 levels in the early part of the week to continue supporting the near-term bull trend formed earlier in the month.

Failure to break through to $9,000 levels could see Bitcoin pull back to the morning’s low, bringing the day’s first major support level of $8,674.47 into play, though whether Bitcoin tests key support levels through the day will depend upon sentiment across the market and towards Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin not calling the shots at the moment.

Looking across at the Cboe Bitcoin Futures, the May contract was up $390 to $8,900 supporting Bitcoin at currently levels but not much more.

Elsewhere, Bitcoin Cash led the way, up 11.77%, with Monero a distant second, up 3.54%, in what’s been a mixed day for the market, NEM’s XEM and Stellar’s Lumen in the red early on.

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About the Author

Bob Masonauthor

With over 20 years of experience in the finance industry, Bob has been managing regional teams across Europe and Asia and focusing on analytics across both corporate and financial institutions. Currently he is covering developments relating to the financial markets, including currencies, commodities, alternative asset classes, and global equities.

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