Bitcoin bulls are attempting to reclaim $9,000 but resistance at $8,800 is holding back the recovery.
In the last 3 hours Bitcoin (BTC) price gained 2.63% after dropping to $8,256 earlier in the day. With just less than 24-hours before the block reward halving is scheduled to take place, traders are likely biting their nails and anxious to see if the top ranked crypto-asset on CoinMarketCap will be able to reclaim $9,000.
Crypto market weekly price chart. Source: Coin360
Today’s drop to $8,256 brought the Bitcoin price below the ascending channel trendline for the second time in 24-hours and traders again purchased into the dip, allowing the price to quickly rebound to $8,784.
BTC USDT 1-hour chart. Source: TradingView
The current price action looks more like an oversold bounce than a reversal but traders will note that the MACD recently pulled above the signal on the hourly time frame and the RSI has lifted from 20 to 42 at the time of writing.
On the 4-hour time frame one can also see the RSI bouncing from oversold regions and the MACD histogram has flipped from deep red to pink, suggesting a slow in sell pressure.
BTC USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView
At the moment, Bitcoin is struggling to push through two high volume VPVR nodes from $8,739-$8,952. As discussed in previous analysis, below the $9,800 support the next notable support level was at $8,800 and under this $7,400 was the level some traders had set their sights on.
BTC USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView
Saturday’s swift fall from $9,560 to $8,122 sliced right through both of the aforementioned supports but if bulls can push through the VPVR nodes at $8,739-$8,952 a recovery to $9,300 is on the table.
Looking forward
For the short term, traders should watch the 30-min and hourly timeframe to see if increasing purchasing volume will allow the price to push above the resistance at $8,784.
As the hourly chart shows, there is a VPVR volume gap from $8,766 to $9,024 and volume permitting the price could extend to $9,176 if $8,784 is overcome.
So far the price continues to find buyers at the ascending channel trendline but more cautious traders might consider waiting for an hourly close above $8,900 before opening a position.
