BTC’s slide has paused, but the alts are taking a beating – but that’s not bearish for bitcoin.

Bitcoin has stabilised in the $5,100 region after Thursday’s Tether-inspired crash from $5,500 to $5,000. The fact that $5k held as support is encouraging, as is the fact that we have heard little more about Tether. Bitfinex denied there was a problem, drawing attention to numerous inaccuracies in the Attorney General’s report – without denying the issue at stake, the misappropriation of $850 million. While BTC is trading at a premium on Bitfinex, the market overall is showing an unexpected degree of confidence in USDT.

As a result, bitcoin is holding above support, and has done since the weekend. There is now the chance of a ‘Bart’ back up to $5,600 and potentially the first test of the $6k area since November. Alternatively, the scenario is a drop down to the mid–$4k region, possibly testing $4,200 – which would be harsh, but actually positive and healthy for bitcoin. When markets break such key resistance, as bitcoin did at $4,200, they need to backtest that area as support to confirm that the bottom is in and the uptrend has started.

For the alts, however, it has been a different story. Alts have seen heavy losses across the board. Almost every single one of the top #100 coins is in the red for the week, with many posting double-digit losses or worse.

This is, again, encouraging. BTC is holding steady, while alts are dropping. This means that alts holders are selling for BTC, and presumably holding that in anticipation of the next rise. Alts as a whole have fallen to their lowest in a month, shedding $15 billion from their high above $90 billion at the start of April.

All of this suggests that BTC is positioning for a big move. Today is the last day of April, and traders will be watching for the close of that monthly candle.

May is going to be interesting, for sure.

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