On 21 February 2022, Bitcoin prices fell below $38,000. In the last 24 hours the asset slipped 0.3%, according to CoinGecko.
After hitting a local low near $37,200, Bitcoin’s price rebounded, briefly topping $39,000.
As of writing, Bitcoin was trading near $37,600.
The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap resumed its decline. Ethereum was around $2,614, having briefly fallen to $2,605.
Over the last 24 hours, futures liquidations totalling $215.17 million were recorded, according to Coinglass.
As of writing, only two assets among the top-10 by market cap, excluding the stablecoin USD Coin, were in the green: Solana (+0.4%) and Terra (+1.5%).
The decline in the crypto market comes amid an intensification of the geopolitical situation. Earlier, ExoAlpha partner David Lifshitz described the Russia-Ukraine tension as the main theme of the news, causing weakness in global markets.
Stock indices on the Moscow Exchange and RTS reacted negatively to the news agenda, losing 6-7%. In the United States, Monday, February 21, was a holiday in honor of Presidents’ Day. Accordingly, Nasdaq and the NYSE were closed.
One trader pointed to a rebound for BTC “from one of the Fibonacci levels.” In his view, the cryptocurrency would break through it and “move lower.”
$BTC Currently bounced right off one of the Fib levels. Fibs are a great tool to use as BTC has been respecting the Fibonacci Retracement levels. I’m sure we will break this level soon and go down lower. #Bitcoin #BTC #crypto #cryptos #cryptocurrencies #alts #altcoin #altcoins pic.twitter.com/PfG4R0SZXn
— Demetri Sky (@DemetriSky15) February 21, 2022
Analyst Michaël van de Poppe indicated the probability of further declines. As the first area of support he named the range $36,000-$37,000.
#Bitcoin lower timeframes indicate that we’re having further downwards momentum with that rejection.
However, first area of support is popping up at $36.000-37.000, which is an area I’d look for if I’d want to search for some longs. pic.twitter.com/tavUu8QX5w
— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) February 21, 2022
Analyst Mark Sorokin of 8848 Invest, in a ForkLog comment, noted that Bitcoin is currently in a very wide price range with the upper bound around $69,000 and the lower bound around $30,000. By his words, the attempt to rebound last week and the current drop do not change the overall picture; the market balance could shift only on a drop below $30,000.
«There is a struggle between large players for additional liquidity, so participants need a trigger to spur new positions and to close old ones. The volatile geopolitical situation adds fuel to the fire. Taken together, all these events affect current prices and exert substantial pressure», — noted Sorokin.
In his view, the main scenario for now is a move below $28,000–$30,000, or even down to $20,000, where the upper bound of the previous source of growth BTC sits.
«Here a short squeeze could occur, forcing those who are short to close positions and buy Bitcoin to cover losses, which would trigger an avalanche-like rise in price. A scenario with a prolonged accumulation of volumes, which could stretch for six months to a year, is also possible. After that, there would be a return to the accumulation zone with a subsequent rise to $60,000», — suggested the analyst.
Earlier at Glassnode, based on on-chain metrics of Bitcoin noted the onset of a bear trend in the price of the first cryptocurrency.
As reported, Huobi co-founder Du Jun predicted a new bull market for Bitcoin not before the end of 2024 or the beginning of 2025.
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