Bitcoin Price Fails to Recover $17,000 as Market Unprepared for Downside

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Bitcoin (BTC) divided traders again on Dec. 21 as sideways price action on BTC divided opinion on the future.

BTC/USD 1 hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView $17,500 Becomes Popular BTC Price Target

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView tracked BTC/USD as it was acting in a tight range just below $17,000.

A single brief spike above the $17,000 mark did not last as the pair returned to familiar territory from last week.

For popular traders, there was a lack of consensus, with some calling for a possible breakout to the upside and others demanding a quick drop towards $10,000.

I’d like him to hold $16.7,000 in order to see what’s next on Bitcoin, Michal van de Poppe, founder and CEO of trading company Eight, told Twitter followers on December 20:

So far so good. Some sideways consolidations, before breaking through $17,000 to continue to $17.5-17.7,000.

Fellow trader and analyst Elizy agreed on the potential to rethink once hitting $17,500, while Crypto Tony also viewed this area as a line in the sand.

Holding this EQ would still present a good opportunity for us to pump towards the zoned supply around $17,300-$17,600. My stop loss on my short is if we close above $17,600, he commented alongside a daily chart.

BTC/USD annotated chart. Source: Crypto Tony/Twitter

Trading resource Game of Trades, meanwhile, considered the potential of the S&P 500 to punish the bears next.

Ongoing short squeeze setup for the market, he predicted alongside a graph of the put/call ratio for the index:

One big upswing and it’s game over for all those putts. Annotated chart of the S&P 500 aggregate put/call ratio. Source: Trading Game/Twitter

Far from bullish, on the other hand, Crypto’s Il Capo warned that a move lower would take market participants by surprise.

Most people aren’t prepared for what’s to come and it shows, he tweeted, echoing a tone in place for much of the year.

Crypto’s Il Capo also noted that some altcoins are already leading the decline, breaking key supports and most of them making new lows.

So calm being out of the market, he added:

US dollar stable after Japan upheaval

After surprise events involving the Bank of Japan (BoJ) the previous day, the US Dollar began to consolidate after seeing another drop.

Related: Forget A Pivot Markets Won’t See Fed Rate Cut Rise In 2023, Analyst Says

The US Dollar Index (DXY), apparently always inversely correlated to the crypto markets, was focused on the 104 mark at the time of writing.

US Dollar Index (DXY) 1 hour candle chart. Source: Trading View

DXY lower due to other currencies getting relatively stronger on hawkish politics > stocks + crypto down/sideways, commentator Tedtalksmacro partly summed up a reaction from Twitter to the BoJ.

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed herein are the sole authors and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

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