Bitcoin (BTC) approached the July 6 Wall Street open near $20,000 as a fresh battle between support and resistance loomed.
BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView
Whale levels close by
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD wedged in a tight trading range with liquidity creeping closer to spot on the day.
After recovering 6% losses from the day before, order book data confirmed that support and resistance was now almost shoulder-to-shoulder.
According to on-chain monitoring resource Whalemap, a cluster of whale positions between $20,546 and $21,327 meant that this large area was now the zone to beat.
Buyer interest, meanwhile, stayed at around $19,200, this also formed of whale bids which formed after BTC/USD dipped to multi-year lows of $17,600 in Q2.
“D1 close above 20.5k and maybe we’ll finally get D1 trend retest,” popular trader Pierre meanwhile tweeted in a fresh update.
“Warned few weeks ago this was setting up like May for a lot of chop while D1 trend would catch down with price. So far that’s exactly what we got, I’d just like a proper D1 trend retest, last one was at 32k…”
An accompanying chart showed moving averages between 10 days and 30 days keeping spot in check.
At $20,200 at the time of writing, BTC/USD thus traded immediately below an important line in the sand on lower timeframes. For Cointelegraph contributor Michaël van de Poppe, breaking through this could open up the path to the other side of resistance at $23,000.
Industry news meanwhile had little impact on BTC price action, this coming in the form of crypto exchange Voyager Digital filing for bankruptcy, the latest domino in a chain reaction sparked by the breakdown of lending platform Celsius.
USD takes a breather
On macro, Asian markets drifted lower, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng down 1.2% and the Shanghai Composite Index down 1.4% at the time of writing.
The U.S. dollar index (DXY), fresh from a surge to new twenty-year highs, meanwhile consolidated immediately below the peak, still above 106.
"First time we're seeing such a recovery after a severe correction + strength on the $DXY," Van de Poppe added.
"Strength on the equities as well. Wouldn't be surprised if this continues in the coming period, despite the overall sentiment being ultra bearish."
U.S. dollar index (DXY) 1-month candle chart. Source: TradingView
