Bitcoin (BTC) is leaving traders guessing as the future of the bull market hinges on the last week of February.
In multiple tweets on Feb. 17, popular trader and analyst Rekt Capital pointed to crucial resistance battles underway in BTC/USD over multiple time frames.
Bitcoin Price Adjusts to Bear Market Downtrend
Bitcoin hit fresh six-month highs this week as the last few entries of its 2023 rally kept the bullish debate going.
After a consolidating start to the month, February turned out to be something of a reckoning point for Bitcoin price strength. Gains have been much harder to cement than in January, when the BTC/USD pair finished nearly 40% down.
For Rekt Capital, now is the time to pay attention, no matter if you trade on daily, weekly or even monthly terms.
The weekly chart perhaps represents the biggest struggle in the wake of the 2022 bear market. Bitcoin is currently trying to break through an area of resistance that it failed to break last August, so far without success.
“Ultimately, a weekly close above this key area is what BTC must achieve to break this confluent area of resistance to continue moving higher,” Rekt Capital wrote in part of its last update on the weekly chart.
The picture is complicated by two other major resistance trend lines at the top, these come in the form of the 50 and 200 week moving averages (MA).
As Cointelegraph reported, these have also just formed their first “death cross,” a potential nail in the coffin for those waiting for a new bull market to begin.
On monthly time frames, an equally tense situation is unfolding. Here, too, BTC/USD is “very close to breaking the macro downtrend,” says Rekt Capital.
The upcoming monthly close will be the deciding factor, as continued strength could see Bitcoin kick off in March. outside a descending trend line from the November 2021 all-time highs.
While this would be a significant event, certain signs I already suggest that could come true. Bitcoin’s RSI, previously at all-time lows, “has already confirmed a new uptrend.”
BTC Price Analysis: Whales Target ‘Bull Market Maxis’
Closer to home, intraday activity remains tantalizingly opaque as Bitcoin bulls hold on to a piece of the week’s high.
Related: Bitcoin Metric Prints ‘Mother Of All BTC Bullish Signs’ For 4th Time Ever
However, two trips above $25,000 failed to break resistance and support, and at the time of writing, BTC/USD was trading around $24,500, according to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView presented.
Although Rekt Capital is celebrating a confirmed breakout, others fear the entire episode was the result of market whale manipulation.
When analyzing the order book activity on Binance, the monitoring of the Resource Materials Indicators seemed to have no doubts about the spurious nature of the current price “strength”.
Whales have been moving supply support higher, creating the illusion of a “bull market breakout.”
“We already have 2 rejections so if they get it it’s a bonus”, Material Indicators wrote on the twin moves above $25,000.
“In my opinion, the goal was to increase the spread range and reduce the demand for liquidity to the highs of the bull market.”
An accompanying order book chart captured the action, along with declining whale volumes as the spot price rose, a phenomenon recently dubbed “whale divergence” by Material Indicators.
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