Bitcoin (BTC) starts the second week of November battling some familiar FUD — how will BTC price action react?The largest cryptocurrency managed a wee
Bitcoin (BTC) starts the second week of November battling some familiar FUD — how will BTC price action react?
The largest cryptocurrency managed a weekly close just below $21,000 on Nov. 6 — an impressive multi-week high — but remains fixed in a sticky trading range.
Despite seeing highs of nearly $21,500 over the past week, there has yet to be a catalyst capable of breaking the market status quo, but the coming week has as good a chance as any of doing so.
Nov. 10 will see key United States inflation data for October released, while jobless claims and multiple speeches from Federal Reserve officials may also impact risk asset volatility.
An unexpected twist from within the crypto realm comes in the form of turmoil involving exchange FTX, Alameda Research and Binance.
Concerns over liquidity have escalated as Binance CEO, Changpeng Zhao, reveals a plan to sell off his platform’s entire stash of FTX’s proprietary token, FTT.
Bitcoin reacted in line with market sentiment overnight, but going forward, will the debacle prove any more than classic crypto FUD?
Cointelegraph takes a look at some of the major factors set to influence BTC price action in the coming days.
FTX worries disrupt weekly close
While falling into the weekly close, BTC/USD still managed to post its highest such weekly candle close since mid-September.
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows the week to Nov. 6 being capped at $20,900 on Bitstamp.
With that, Bitcoin defends its trading range and avoids any noticeable break of its current paradigm — lurching between $19,000 and $22,800 since August.
While heading nearer the top of the range, the FTX news involving Binance appeared to dampen the mood significantly, ultimately costing Bitcoin the $21,000 mark.
“As part of Binance’s exit from FTX equity last year, Binance received roughly $2.1 billion USD equivalent in cash (BUSD and FTT),” Binance CEO, Changpeng Zhao (also known as “CZ”) wrote in a Twitter thread.
“Due to recent revelations that have came to light, we have decided to liquidate any remaining FTT on our books.”
Zhao added that divesting itself of its FTX holdings would take Binance “a few months,” acknowledging that markets could be impacted throughout.
In his own thread, Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO of FTX, meanwhile referenced what he called “unfounded rumors” regarding liquidity issues.
“We’re grateful to those who stay; and when this blows over we’ll welcome everyone else back,” he wrote in one optimistic post to followers overnight.
The market reaction has so far been less positive; a look at the top ten cryptocurrencies by market cap shows 24-hour losses on some tokens nearing 10% at the time of writing.
For Bitcoin traders, it is time to take advantage of the retracement in a week they believe should result in further upside.
“Lost lower time frame support. Nice little pullback. Will be looking to re-long when it finds it’s next support,” popular trading account IncomeSharks wrote in an update.
A separate post focused on potential cross-crypto gains.
“Total marketcap looking great on the daily. Bull or bear, I think there’s enough people still sitting on cash to push up to 1.5 trillion,” it read.
Michaël van de Poppe, founder and CEO of trading firm Eight, also said that he would be looking for “buy the dip opportunities” across crypto in the short term.
A classic counter-perspective came from fellow trader Il Capo of Crypto, who argued that $21,500 will mark the high point in a downtrend set to continue.
“Seeing whales wanting to fill asks at 21500. A very quick scam pump to this level would be the perfect end of the party. ETH to 1700s,” part of a tweet stated.
CPI and U.S. midterms in focus
The Federal Reserve dominated the last week of October when it came to crypto-asset performance thanks to its decision to raise interest rates by another 0.75%.
As this is implemented, markets will be watching another key figure this week — Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for October.
Estimates put year-on-year inflation at 7.9%, as per economists surveyed by Bloomberg, down 0.3% versus September.
Any lower-than-expected CPI readout could be a boon for crypto and riskassets, as it notionally increases the chances of the Fed pulling back on rate hikes sooner.
Before CPI and jobless claims, however, there is the issue of the U.S. midterm elections to deal with — a potential source of volatility in and of itself.
“Personally, I am in no rush just yet to start buying,” well-known social media personality @CryptoGodJohn told followers.
“CZ vs SBF drama, Midterm elections Tuesday, CPI Thursday. This will be the biggest week of crypto that will set the tune for the end of the year.”
The rate hike announcement was something of a fake tone-setter, having sparked volatility which canceled itself out within days.
Fellow…
cointelegraph.com