Will Bitcoin Price Break $22,000? Dollar weakness and Bank of Japan easing boost hopes

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Bitcoin (BTC) faced a potentially volatile day on January 18 as several macro triggers began to disrupt the outlook.

BTC/USD 1 hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingViewBoJ refuses to hike

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed the BTC/USD holding company was above $21,000 on the day.

The pair remained calm amid news from Japan, where the central bank, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) had decided to keep ultra-loose policy in place, defying expectations of an interest rate hike.

In doing so, the Yen and the US Dollar took a hit, with the latest chapter in a saga being closely watched by crypto commentators.

“By keeping its key rate and yield curve control policy unchanged at today’s meeting, the Bank of Japan probably wanted to send a message to the market: don’t fight the BoJ,” reacted ING in a dedicated response.

Cointelegraph contributor Michal van de Poppe focused on a further drop in the US Dollar Index (DXY) following the news.

Another bearish retest is taking place on the DXY, in which it begins to drop significantly, possibly even due to the BoJ announcements earlier today, he summarized.

As it happens, DXY bounced back to 101.9, not quite retesting the seven-month lows hit on January 16th.

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

Van de Poppe also noted upcoming data from the United States in the form of the Producer Price Index (PPI) for December 2022.

In a few hours we will have the PPI figures and retail sales, he added.

Perhaps there will be displacements afterwards. BTC whale auction raises questions

In Bitcoin markets, meanwhile, suspicion continued to swirl around activity on Binance’s order book as high-volume traders showed increasing liquidity.

Related:Bitcoin hits new post-FTX high as analysis warns move is choreographed

On-chain analytics resource Material Indicators argued that a single entity was potentially driving up bids, helping push BTC/USD to two-month highs.

Speculating that it could be the same whale using the $4 million to isolate their $22 million and give enough time to cover the $22 million if the $4 million is hit. Just a theory. Time will tell, said one of several January 17 Twitter posts.

A subsequent tweet nevertheless expressed concerns about how long they can sustain this, implying that a corrective move could still be present in Bitcoin.

BTC/USD order book data (Binance). Source: Materials Indicators/Twitter

Binance’s latest order book overview showed the strongest resistance clustered at $22,000.

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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