Bitcoin is once again testing the $10,800 level of resistance as it attempts to break out ahead of Bakkt’s highly anticipated futures launch.

Bakkt will launch Bitcoin futures to institutional clients on September 23 having already received the green light from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) earlier this year.

While news events like this would be presumably bullish for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, the launch of futures on the CME and CBOE in December 2017 marked the top of the bull market, with Bitcoin proceeding to fall from $20,000 to $5,900 in the following six weeks.

From a technical standpoint, Bitcoin needs to surge above $11,300 to take out the diagonal resistance dating back to the $14,000 high on June 24.

Even more of a bullish scenario would be if Bitcoin closes a daily candle above $12,400 to avoid a fourth consecutive lower high, which is typically a bearish pattern.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is delicately poised at $10,750, a level it has been trying to surpass since the breakout on September 3.

If price fails to achieve a weekly high above $10,800, Bitcoin could suffer some downside price action this weekend as it would signal a loss of bullish momentum.

The four-hour RSI is showing signs of bearish divergence as it’s currently making lower highs while price makes short-term higher highs.

However, the daily RSI is ticking up, which is indicative of continuation to the upside. A bullish breakout leading up to the launch of Bakkt’s futures product could be the ideal mix of technical and fundamental factors that could well influence a rise in Bitcoin’s price for the rest of 2019.

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