April 2, 2023
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Bitcoin on track to see its highest weekly close of 2022

Bitcoin on track to see its highest weekly close of 2022

CoinRegWatch04 mins

Seven-day gains nearing 9% have put BTC price action firmly ahead of every other week so far this year.

Bitcoin (BTC) saw a fresh spike to near $45,000 overnight into March 27 as the weekend looked set to deliver a decisively bullish close. 

BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView

Weekly close of key importance

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD grinding back to higher levels seen days previously after a rejection at just above the $45,000 mark.

While still within its extended trading range with $46,000 as its ceiling, the pair was still firmly on the radar of long-term traders as the weekly close drew near, this being apt to be Bitcoin’s highest of the year so far.

BTC/USD 1-week candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView

Popular trader and analyst Rekt Capital added that Bitcoin’s 21-week exponential moving average (EMA) was also in line for a flip as resistance — something which had served bulls well in 2021.

Some were not convinced of the strength of current levels, however. Among them was fellow trader and analyst Crypto Ed, who cautioned that buying into long-term resistance nearly the $46,000 yearly open made little sense in terms of risk/ reward ratio.

As Cointelegraph reported, others had already argued that a more significant trend breakout was necessary for Bitcoin in order for them to flip overall bullish and take on long positions.

Spot demand soothes market observers

Meanwhile, on-chain research revealed that it was spot markets, not derivatives, that were at the helm over the past week.

Related: ProShares ETF’s Bitcoin stash hits $1.27B as BTC eyes $50K by mid-April

This was bullish in itself, Glassnode co-founders Yann Allemann and Jan Happel argued on Twitter this weekend, since historically, sustained upside had been driven by spot demand.

Derivatives themselves provided little cause for concern, however, as funding rates stayed neutral to negative despite the advance towards the top of Bitcoin’s trading range.

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Bitcoin sellers keep BTC price action in check amid $45K 'fakeout' warning

Bitcoin sellers keep BTC price action in check amid $45K ‘fakeout’ warning

CoinRegWatch05 mins

Eyes are still on what happens above the current local highs, not below, even as BTC price action is up 6% in a week.

Bitcoin (BTC) took a breather from its latest upside on March 26 after predicted resistance kicked in just under the yearly open.

BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView

Bitcoin fakeouts: Third time’s the charm?

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD lingering around $44,500 Saturday, preserving the lion’s share of the week’s progress.

Traders had sounded the alarm on a possible retracement after a large sell wall appeared on major exchange Bitfinex. In the event, sell-side pressure prevailed, halting bulls’ advance at just above $45,000.

“Still waiting to see how price trades around yearly open. The prev times I targeted it we came up short but got very close although this time looks better for BTC. Almost there,” popular trader Pentoshi summarized.

Fellow Twitter user B C Richfield meanwhile highlighted the need to crack the current local high of $45,135, after two “fakeouts” on lower timeframes. A failure to do so, he argued prior to the high occurring, would be bad news.

Another topic of debate from the week, that of Blockchain protocol Terra’s multibillion-dollar Bitcoin buy-in, continued, executives adding roughly another 3,000 BTC to a wallet now containing 24,954 BTC ($1.1 billion).

Media attention and excitement increased in step, with analytics firm Messari highlighting “increased usage and fundamentals” as driving the price of Terra’s LUNA token while other smart contract tokens traded down.

LUNA/USD was nonetheless in the same position it traded at last weekend at the time of writing, while both Bitcoin and largest altcoin Ether (ETH) were up over 6% during the same period. 

Fees remain a bargain

For all the focus on a turnaround coming from within the crypto industry, however, for the mainstream, Bitcoin remained firmly under the radar.

Related: After years of doubts and concerns, it is finally Bitcoin’s time to shine

In addition to Google Trends data showing an ongoing lull, analyst Benjamin Cowen noted that Bitcoin’s low transaction fees underscored a lack of activity.

“To some degree, Bitcoin transaction fees tell you what you need to know,” he said.

“Clearly the tourists are gone at the moment. But they will return. They always do.”

Bitcoin total transaction fees chart. Source: Blockchain

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

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Beware the Bitfinex whale: New $45K BTC sell wall appears amid worries Bitcoin could retrace

Beware the Bitfinex whale: New $45K BTC sell wall appears amid worries Bitcoin could retrace

CoinRegWatch04 mins

A whale who bought at $34,000 now looks set to sell near current levels as a large wall of asks appears on Bitfinex.

Bitcoin (BTC) was up nearly 5% in 24 hours at the Wall Street open on March 25, but a new warning sign was giving traders cold feet.

BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView

Bitfinex whale flips to sell mode

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView confirmed BTC/USD hitting multi-week highs of $45,137 on March 25 as Wall Street got underway.

As $45,000 reappeared for the first time since the start of the month, however, so did all-too-familiar behavior among some of Bitcoin’s biggest investors.

Attention turned to exchange Bitfinex on the day, a platform famous for large-volume traders, or whales, guiding short-term price action with their trades.

As noted by popular trader Pentoshi, the entity that had purchased BTC at the last low near $34,000 had now put in a significant ask position beginning at $45,000.

Blockware lead insights analyst William Clemente agreed, telling Twitter users that it was now “popcorn time” for the market.

Cointelegraph contributor Michaël van de Poppe, meanwhile, flagged “a dozen” possible lower price targets should BTC/USD sweep liquidity at previous rejection points from March, these also lying just above $45,000.

“I’m not saying I’m bearish at this stage, but while we’re making this build-up, I’m not really interested in longs at this point,” he said in his latest YouTube update.

Only a rechallenge of $50,000, he added, would form the impetus to consider long positions.

“No longs” on Ethereum, says trade

Van de Poppe added that altcoins were also on the radar and that it would be interesting to see how Ether (ETH), in particular, deals with upcoming resistance.

Related: What are the BTC price levels to watch as Bitcoin nears March peak?

The top ten cryptocurrencies by market cap showed clear copycat strength on daily timeframes, led by ETH/USD, which matched Bitcoin’s 5% gains.

Cardano (ADA), while dropping several percentage points on the day, was still up 35% compared to the same time last week, making it the top ten’s best performer.

ADA/USD 1-day candle chart (Coinbase). Source: TradingView
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What are the BTC price levels to watch as Bitcoin nears March peak?

What are the BTC price levels to watch as Bitcoin nears March peak?

CoinRegWatch05 mins

$46,000 is now the next level of interest for traders, while behind the scenes, Terra keeps buying BTC.

Bitcoin (BTC) closed in on its highest level of the month on March 25 with traders hoping for an end to months of consolidation.

BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView

Terra BTC stash nears $1 billion

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD cementing recent gains to hit $44,698 on Bitstamp Friday. 

With that, the pair was under $1,000 away from cracking the monthly high around $45,330.

For traders, the yearly open at $46,000 was now of increasing importance.

Crypto Ed, however, even suggested that on the strength of the breakthrough of lower resistance levels, $46,000 may not end up a successful bet.

“What happens usually at such an obvious resistance? BTC bursts through, fueled by a short squeeze. Those waiting for 46k to break are likely to be left behind. 3rd time is a charm,” he commented alongside a chart.

BTC/USD annotated chart. Source: Crypto Ed/ Twitter

Buy-ins from Blockchain protocol Terra for its new stablecoin, a source of bullish sentiment this week, continued, its wallet containing 21,323 BTC ($947 million) at the time of writing.

Interest in the move was palpable, not least given that the largest corporate BTC treasury, that of MicroStrategy, contained just over 125,000 BTC. Should Terra fulfill its goal to back its TerraUSD stablecoin with $10 billion in Bitcoin, the firm would ultimately own around 224,400 BTC — twice as much.

Praise be to the whales?

For Filbfilb, co-founder of trading suite Decentrader, there was cause for optimism that this slow grind towards resistance could endure, unlike previous attempts to end the sideways action.

Related: Bitcoin hash rate may see ‘small capitulation’ with difficulty set for new all-time high

“After what felt like an eternal sideways grind, Bitcoin has now been trending up the past couple of weeks as most of the market remains in disbelief on this near-term rally,” he began in a market update Friday.

“It appears whales had other intentions though, and we have seen a steady consistent bid for Bitcoin ever since this significant wall of bids appeared over at Bitfinex at $37,000.”

Filbfilb continued that Bitfinex whales had made a clear statement by putting in buy-support at $37,000 during a consolidation period, and with that, the odds were on for a trip to the resistance wall around $46,000.

“Why is this so significant? Because for years now, Bitfinex has been used by Bitcoin whales to push $BTC price around using these bid / ask walls. So when price and sentiment are at extremes, it is always worth paying attention to the order books at Bitfinex to see when these big walls appear,” he continued.

“It is also worth noting that while it could get pulled, the next major wall is currently sitting at $45,500-$46,000.”

Should the yearly open no longer constitute the psychological ceiling for Bitcoin, the 200-day moving average near $47,900 would be the next port of call, the update added.

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Bitcoin clings to $43K as Fed signals up to 7 rate hikes in 2022

Bitcoin clings to $43K as Fed signals up to 7 rate hikes in 2022

CoinRegWatch05 mins

Fresh comments from officials shows the need to tame inflation, while bonds see their biggest comedown from all-time highs since 2008.

Bitcoin (BTC) continued to fight for $43,000 support at the Wall Street open on March 24 amid fresh jitters tied to United States economic policy.

BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView

Kashkari warns of “overdoing it” on hikes

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD staying just below the $43,000 mark as trading began Thursday.

At the time of writing, U.S. markets were still in the process of steadying in their first hour, these of particular importance to Bitcoin traders given the considerable positive correlation between BTC and equities. This week, it emerged that the correlation between BTC/USD and the S&P 500, for example, had hit its highest in nearly 18 months.

Back in focus on the day was the Federal Reserve. In a widely reported Q&A session, Neel Kashkari, President of the Minneapolis Fed, revealed that there could be up to seven key rate hikes this year.

While potentially not all necessary, he explained, the Fed needed to deal with the issue of inflation.

“There’s a danger to overdoing it. We’re going to get information,” he said, quoted by Reuters.

Attempts to tighten monetary policy nonetheless showed their impact on bonds markets, these coming down 11% from their all-time highs in the steepest retracement since the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, markets commentator Holger Zschaepitz noted.

Bitcoin in turn could see “headwinds” to come, Bloomberg Intelligence chief commodity strategist Mike McGlone added in a Twitter post.

“Long risk assets may be fighting the Fed, among the riskiest — Bitcoin — faces headwinds as rate-hike expectations rise,” he wrote.

“Akin to 2020, when trading in the decentralized crypto network was relatively fluid vs. halts and limits in equity futures, Bitcoin is proving its value.”

An accompanying chart showed what McGlone warned could be a repeat of Bitcoin’s 2018 bear market — rates rising while BTC/USD comes down from a macro top.

BTC/USD vs. Fed funds futures chart. Source: Mike McGlone/ Twitter

BTC price claws back key moving average

As Cointelegraph reported, Bitcoin price action had been buoyed throughout the week by high-profile buy-ins from Blockchain protocol Terra.

Related: Bitcoin ‘could easily see $30K’ with stocks due to 30% drawdown in 2022 — Analyst

Initially tipped to see $3 billion of BTC purchased, the first three transactions of $125 million each coincided with BTC/USD hitting its highest in over three weeks.

The purchasing was nonetheless questioned by some, among them statistician Willy Woo, who argued that their scale would be unlikely to make any significant difference given Bitcoin’s liquidity.

Nonetheless, traders were palpably more confident on the day, as Bitcoin saw its first closes over its 100-day moving average for almost four months.

BTC/USD 1-day candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView
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BTC price almost clears $43.5K with Terra $125M Bitcoin buy-ins gathering pace

BTC price almost clears $43.5K with Terra $125M Bitcoin buy-ins gathering pace

CoinRegWatch05 mins

A third tranche of USDT leaves a wallet thought to hold funds earmarked to purchase at least $3 billion of Bitcoin.

Bitcoin (BTC) returned to $43,000 on March 24 as new purchases by Blockchain protocol Terra fuelled optimism.

BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView

The BTC buys keep coming

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD attempting to crack and secure its highest levels in weeks Thursday.

The pair had consolidated day before, the sideways action on lower timeframes giving way to a “grind” upwards, which took Bitcoin to $43,492 — a price last seen March 3.

Terra, which had become a focus of attention over plans for a giant $10 billion BTC allocation, had sent Tether (USDT) from its alleged wallet worth almost $750 million at the time of writing.

Terra co-founder, Do Kwon, had at first given a $10 billion target for backing the firm’s new U.S. dollar stablecoin, followed by $3 billion in an interview at the weekend, but on Tuesday reconfirmed that the ultimate goal was $10 billion.

With liquidity seemingly pouring in, however, the mood among traders was edging towards confidence along with spot price.

Popular Twitter account Credible Crypto in particular took aim at those hoping to buy in at levels below $40,000.

“2.5-3k $BTC per day of supply removed over a long period of time = huge impact,” trader Pentoshi added about the Terra buy-ins versus Bitcoin’s fixed supply.

Pentoshi continued that such a move could reawaken attention among would-be investors in an atmosphere where mainstream consumer interest in Bitcoin is at macro lows. He summarized:

“Those who are short have to cover higher at some point as supply itself dissipates. What is scarce, becomes more so. This clip can bring back the apes, in which (Kwon) is the lord of the Apes.”

El Salvador president comes out fighting amid U.S. threat

Elsewhere, news that El Salvador had reportedly pushed back the release of its so-called “Volcano bonds” with Bitfinex to September did not seem to sour the mood.

Related: Here’s why Bitcoin bulls will defend $42K ahead of Friday’s $3.3B BTC options expiry

With $1.5 billion of interest rumored to be vying for the $1 billion ten-year bond offering, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele remained vocal on social media as U.S. lawmakers escalated measures to investigate the country’s Bitcoin adoption.

Previous estimates had put the bond release timeline as beginning at some point in mid-March.

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Terra may be about to repeat $125M BTC buy that sparked Bitcoin's run to $43.3K

Terra may be about to repeat $125M BTC buy that sparked Bitcoin’s run to $43.3K

CoinRegWatch04 mins

A repeat transaction to Binance of 125 million USDT sees one trader follow suit into Bitcoin, with BTC/USD yet to react at the Wall Street open.

Bitcoin (BTC) could be set for a repeat of this week’s run to weekly highs after Blockchain protocol Terra appeared set to buy another $125 million of BTC.

A wallet thought to belong to Terra but not officially confirmed to be under its control sent another 125 million Tether (USDT) to Binance on March 23.

Rinse and repeat for 5.6% BTC price gains?

The Bitcoin price narrative gained a new player this week after Terra co-founder Do Kwon let slip about a plan to back a new U.S. dollar stablecoin, TerraUSD (UST) with both BTC and Terra’s LUNA token.

The buy-in required to do so amounts to $3 billion, he told commentator Udi Wertheimer last week, adding that the bulk of purchasing had yet to occur at the time.

Analysis of the presumed wallet supports that thesis, with the first 125 million USDT transaction heading to Binance overnight on March 21. In the hours that followed, BTC/USD gained around 5.5%.

Now, an identical transaction has been made, fuelling fresh speculation that Bitcoin could soon see another $125 million worth of buyer demand executed in minutes.

For popular trader, analyst and commentator Cantering Clark, the move, in itself, was enough to enter the market.

“Terra foundation just sent another 125mil to Binance. Last time they did this was right before they aped into BTC. I plan on following. Will cut and re-evaluate if we lose these lows,” he told Twitter followers.

Kwon, himself, had not confirmed any of the activity at the time of writing, having already claimed that he had said too much during the interview with Wertheimer.

Screenshot of the transactions thought to be Terra BTC buys via Binance. Source: Etherscan

Trader demands $45,500 retest to pay attention

At March 23’s Wall Street open, however, there was not yet any sign of a fresh bullish impulse move on BTC/USD markets.

Related: Bitcoin dips 3.6% from weekly highs — What are the key BTC price levels to watch?

The pair traded at around $42,000, having come down over $1,300 versus the highs a day previously, data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed.

“Gotta get above $45,500,” trader, analyst and podcast host Scott Melker added in his latest YouTube update on the day, ongoing at the time of writing.

“Anything else is just a tease.”

On the daily chart, he nonetheless noted that narrowing Bollinger Bands were hinting at incoming volatility, with BTC/USD tapping the top band this week.

BTC/USD 1-day candle chart (Bitstamp) with Bollinger Bands. Source: TradingView
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Bitcoin hovers at $43K on Wall Street open amid growing fever over Terra's $3B BTC buy-in

Bitcoin hovers at $43K on Wall Street open amid growing fever over Terra’s $3B BTC buy-in

CoinRegWatch05 mins

A major new BTC acquisition for Terra’s new U.S. dollar stablecoin is getting commentators and the market excited.

Bitcoin (BTC) showed signs of wanting higher levels still on March 22 as Wall Street trading saw a return above $43,000.

BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView

Terra co-founder: ‘Most of’ $3 billion still unpurchased

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView followed BTC/USD as it continued its newly confident stride to three-week highs.

The pair had already gained thanks to encouraging macro signs from China, but it was news from within that really set the pace on the day.

In a Twitter Spaces conversation with infamous Bitcoin pundit Udi Wertheimer, Do Kwon, co-founder of Blockchain protocol Terra, revealed that he planned to back his new TerraUSD (UST) stablecoin with BTC in addition to Terra’s LUNA token.

“Haven’t been following up with the exact numbers ’cause transactions we generally do this over OTC, but the current clip that we have to buy big coin is about $3 billion and will will add to that,” he told Wertheimer about Terra’s BTC acquisition plans.

“But out of that 3 billion, most of it we haven’t bought yet.”

Those comments set the market alight as word spread, as sleuths eyed $125 million in Tether (USDT), seemingly tied to Terra already on the move.

A $3 billion purchase would equate to around 69,850 BTC at current prices. That would make Terra a larger Bitcoin holder than every corporate investor except MicroStrategy, with its 125,051 BTC stash, data from monitoring resource Bitcoin Treasuries reveals.

“I said more than I shoulda,” Kwon conceded at the weekend after the conversation.

Reacting, meanwhile, Luke Martin, host of the WAGMI podcast, argued that the Terra’s was a “narrative worth paying attention to.”

Sky-high BTC price forecasts evade social media

The mood among Bitcoin traders was thus buoyant March 22, with all-out bullishness still hard to come by following months of relentless sideways price action.

Related: Bitcoin hash rate may see ‘small capitulation’ with difficulty set for new all-time high

“If Bitcoin can sustain those levels, it seems to me that we’re getting a period of some relief rallies across markets. Would be good,” Cointelegraph contributor Michaël van de Poppe concluded.

Fellow trader Anbessa, meanwhile, delivered the immediate outlook for BTC/USD based on a bullish or bearish next reaction.

Earlier, Cointelegraph reported on the push to over $43,300, liquidating a significant raft of short positions.

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Bitcoin hash rate may see ‘small capitulation’ with difficulty set for new all-time high

Bitcoin hash rate may see ‘small capitulation’ with difficulty set for new all-time high

CoinRegWatch05 mins

Bitcoin network fundamentals appear more resilient than ever to attacks on miners‘ operations.

Bitcoin (BTC) set a new all-time high for hash rate last week, but opinions are divided as to whether the uptrend can continue.

In a Twitter debate on March 21, Preston Pysh, host of The Investor‘s Podcast, eyed changing behavior in Bitcoin‘s hash ribbons metric for signs of a new hash rate “lull.”

Questions over “lull” in hash rate after record highs

Bitcoin has overcome considerable odds over the past year to see the processing power dedicated to mining — hash rate — reach a giant 222 exahashes per second (EH/s) this month, according to estimates from monitoring resource MiningPoolStats.

First China sparking a mass miner exodus, then this year‘s crackdown of mining hubs in Kazakhstan put the cat among the pigeons in terms of miner operation.

Nonetheless, a full recovery ensued on both occasions, reinforcing the idea that as long as there is at least one “friendly” jurisdiction for miners, mining will come back harder than ever before.

Hash ribbons use two simple moving averages (SMAs) of hash rate to assess miner health and has been used to conclude when likely price bottoms are near based on that health.

Miners have a breakeven cost for producing each Bitcoin, and when the spot price is lower than that cost, the danger arises that they will begin to “capitulate,” or cease operations due to a lack of profitability. This has the knock-on effect of reducing price performance, and an adjustment in Bitcoin network difficulty is needed to lower miners‘ production costs en masse.

In terms of hash ribbons, when the 30-day SMA crosses under the 60-day SMA, this suggests a capitulation event — at least large enough to measure — has occurred.

“A simple 1- and 2-month simple moving average of Bitcoin’s hash rate can be used to identify market bottoms, miner capitulation and — even better — great times to buy Bitcoin,” Charles Edwards, CEO of asset manager Capriole, who created the metric, explained in a blog post in 2019.

“When the 1-month SMA of Hash Rate crosses over the 2-month SMA of Hash Rate, the worst of the miner capitulation is typically over, and the recovery has begun.”

This time, events in Kazakhstan could have formed the trigger for a capitulation event, which has, nonetheless, already been erased in terms of hash rate growth.

“Margins are still very healthy. Production cost is low-mid 30s. Electrical (running) cost is low 20s,” Edwards responded to Pysh, referencing a theory by Blockware analyst Joe Burnett.

“I think (Burnett’s) reasoning re- Kazakhstan is most logical. So perhaps a small capitulation (provided broader macro/market strength).”

Bitcoin hash ribbons vs. BTC/USD chart. Source: Glassnode

Difficulty set for record highs

It‘s not just hash rate: Mining difficulty is also enjoying a winning streak that looks set to resume this month after its own brief consolidation.

Related: Bitcoin ‘could easily see $30K’ with stocks due to 30% drawdown in 2022 — Analyst

As the most important of Bitcoin‘s fundamentals indicators, the difficulty is set to increase by an estimated 4.66% at the next automated readjustment in eight days‘ time.

The last two readjustments were both negative, but only just, meaning the upcoming increase will send difficulty to new all-time highs of 28.73 trillion.

Bitcoin difficulty 7-day moving average chart. Source: Blockchain
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Bitcoin hits 3-week high as fresh impulse move sends BTC price to $43.3K

Bitcoin hits 3-week high as fresh impulse move sends BTC price to $43.3K

CoinRegWatch04 mins

Lackluster performance since the weekend gives way to hopeful signs of bullish continuation into Tuesday.

Bitcoin (BTC) saw a fresh impulse move overnight into March 22 as bulls briefly reclaimed $43,000.

BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView

RSI hints at underlying strength

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD reaching $43,337 on Bitstamp Tuesday, the pair’s highest since March 3.

The action contrasted with the lack of volatility since the weekend, and neatly fitted with the more bullish predictions surrounding near-term trajectory.

For popular trader Crypto Ed, who had previously given $43,000 as a low-timeframe target, all was going to plan.

Fellow analyst Matthew Hyland meanwhile eyed a potential breakout scenario for Bitcoin’s relative strength index (RSI) on the daily chart — a phenomenon which has often preceded price strength.

BTC/USD 1-day chart (Coinbase) with RSI. Source: Matthew Hyland/ Twitter

“BTC is a few hundred bucks away from the first higher high we’ve seen in a long time. Will it happen?” crypto market analyst Kevin Svenson added.

Bitcoin had already sealed an impressive weekly close Sunday, its highest since early February, and now, macro cues were adding to the positive momentum once again.

Trading was brisk for Asian markets on the day, the Hong Kong Hang Seng index up 3.15% at the time of writing.

In Europe, however, there was little sign of a knock-on impact, while U.S. futures were likewise trending down prior to the Wall Street open.

The push higher nonetheless did manage to squeeze out some short positions across cryptocurrency, as evidenced by data from on-chain monitoring resource Coinglass.

Total 24-hour liquidations stood at $168 million at the time of writing.

Crypto liquidations chart. Source: Coinglass

Ethereum returns to $3,000 in altcoin copycat rally

On altcoins, the picture likewise turned more rosy overnight.

Related: Price analysis 3/21: BTC, ETH, BNB, XRP, LUNA, SOL, ADA, AVAX, DOT, DOGE

The top ten cryptocurrencies by market cap were led by Cardano (ADA), which was 5.8% up in 24 hours to cap weekly gains nearing 20%.

ADA/USD 1-day candle chart (Coinbase). Source: TradingView

Other major tokens fared almost as well, including Polkadot (DOT) and XRP.

Ether (ETH), the largest altcoin, tapped $3,000 in step with Bitcoin’s rally before consolidating immediately under that psychologically significant level.

ETH/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView
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