Markets Update: Bulls Test the Psychological $1200 Price Range

On March 31 our Markets Update report had shown bitcoin’s price was looking bullish with buyers gaining control of the market. This week the story is still the same as the price has been on a steady incline, touching the US$1200 range mid-afternoon on April 6.

Also read: A Visual Look at Bitcoin Growth and Demand So Far in 2017

Bitcoin Price Weekly View

This week in bitcoin-land has been pretty dramatic and entertaining, to say the least. As far as price is concerned bitcoin has had an incredible week escalating into new price territories. At press time the current price per BTC is $1188 taking a slight dip after yesterday’s $1202 high across global exchanges. Currently, there is heavy resistance in the psychological $1200 range as there are quite a bit of sell walls throughout exchange order books looking at depth charts. There has been plenty of plays for day traders looking for breaks and scalps if positions were played right.

Technical indicators show bitcoin’s price is still a buyer’s market with the price still ascending upwards early morning on April 7. The 100 Simple Moving Average (SMA) shows the same patterns as the past two weeks trending higher than the 200 SMA trendlines. Future markets and throughout various trading forums show many traders are still betting “long” as opposed to trying to short the market. However, others believe technical indicators show the price may be in overbought territory. At the present time, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) indicates sellers may consolidate in the near future, but there seems to be a significant floor around the $1150 mark.

Cryptocurrency Markets Weekly View

Overall cryptocurrency market capitalizations have now reached $27.3 billion with 860 million in daily trade volume. Bitcoin’s market share dominance is close to 70 percent at the time of writing among the 693 cryptocurrency capitalizations. Currently, throughout the top ten forerunning digital assets most altcoins on the list have dipped in price. Ethereum’s price has dropped to a low of $43 per ether and captures close to a $4 billion market cap. Ripple’s (XRP) price had an exciting ride this past week reaching an all time high of 6 cents per XRP. However, the same day Ripple’s price also took a 50 percent cut and now sits at 3 cents a token.

The number four highest valued altcoin Dash has seen better days. Currently, the price per Dash has hit a low of $66 per token as many traders seem to be shorting the market. Litecoin’s (LTC) market value has had a stellar week reaching a high of 11.50 per LTC, but the price has since dipped to $9. Just as we said last week, the price rise seems to be attributed to Segwit activation as the digital currency’s network seems close to implementing the protocol.

The rest of the top ten cryptocurrencies Monero, Ethereum Classic, NEM, Augur, and Maidsafe coin are experiencing dips between 7 to 3 percent. Altcoins such as Golem, Zcash, and Tether have been steadily trying to enter the top ten race.

Escalating Price Rise Despite Scaling Debate Drama

This week will be interesting to see if the price per BTC can break the $1200 range. Currently, most of the positive news that may have pushed the price upwards stems from Japan. The country has officially legalized the decentralized currency as a form of payment. Otherwise, there is significant drama and strife within the bitcoin community. The scaling debate and development of bitcoin’s code has escalated to new levels of sensationalistic commentary and dramatic arguments across social media platforms, most notably on Twitter. At least the commotion has had little effect on the price, which is a good sign.

Bear scenario: If the price breaks to the downside, bears could claw bitcoin’s value down to the $1150-1125 range. If those price points are not supported, deeper corrections could also take place if sellers gain control of market activities. Right now there seems to be a strong floor around the $1175-1150 mark but that could break with negative news.

Bull scenario: At the moment bulls still have control and the price has been steadily ascending upwards over the past 48-hours. The price could once again regain the $1200 territory and reach higher levels in the near future. SMA indicators show in the short term this seems to be the case.

What do you think about Bitcoin’s price trends at the moment? Do you think global bitcoin markets will surpass $1,200 again? Let us know in the comments below.

Disclaimer: Bitcoin price articles and markets updates are intended for informational purposes only and should not to be considered as trading advice. Neither Bitcoin.com nor the author is responsible for any losses or gains, as the ultimate decision to conduct a trade is made by the reader. Always remember that only those in possession of the private keys are in control of the “money”.

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