Bitcoin It is trading in a tight range between $59,000 and $60,000 for the fifth day in a row, a quiet range that some analysts have warned is more dangerous than where it is.
The range itself is normal. Bitcoin spent most of 2024 from March to October, stabilizing between $55,000 and $70,000 with occasional overshoots in both directions. In an email to CoinDesk, Alex Kuptsikevich, chief market analyst at FxPro, said that what makes the current setup more risky is its location.
The band sits below the levels that sparked the rebounds in February and earlier this month, as well as the 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Traders watch both averages closely, and both are currently trending downward, indicating a bearish bias.
And it’s a sign of a downtrend rather than a market from which to build a base to climb.
“It’s a dangerous consolidation for the bulls,” Koptsekevich said, noting that the 2024 version is shaping up in a rising market while this one is shaping up in a falling market. If the pattern breaks lower instead of resolving higher, he said, the next meaningful step below is near $40,000.
Some onchain indicators suggest the same. Pseudonymous crypto-quant analyst Dark Faust showed signs that long-term holders are starting to capitulate, or sell at a loss. In past cycles, this phase has marked attractive entry points for buyers, even as it signals imminent pain.