Market Movements: Bitcoin Pivots While Investors Sigh Over Stocks in 2023

Stock Market Shakeup

On February 21st, the U.S. equities market took a dive, marking the worst performance of 2023. Investors, it seems, were not too keen on the prospect of the Federal Reserve’s continued rate hikes, leading to a panic sell-off of stocks. Honestly, it’s almost as if they were expecting a surprise party that no one was invited to.

Bitcoin’s Little Resilience

Even as traditional markets floundered, the cryptocurrency realm saw a more tempered reaction. Analyst Dylan LeClair from UTXO Management noted that Bitcoin’s (BTC) correlation with the S&P 500 has plummeted to its lowest point since late 2021. Perhaps it’s going through that “it’s not you, it’s me” phase. There’s a silver lining: data from Glassnode revealed that only 21% of long-term holders sold their coins at a loss—a significant drop from the dizzying heights of 56% in mid-January.

Charting Bitcoin’s Journey

Bitcoin stumbled its way through another setback at around $25,211 on February 21. The short-term bulls might have felt a bit discouraged, prompting them to shield their profits and let the price potentially dip to its first major support level, the 20-day EMA, sitting at $23,364. Here’s a thought: if the price bounces back from this level, it could signal a resurgence in buying that may push Bitcoin north of $25,250. If not, we might witness a dramatic sell-off down to the 50-day SMA at $21,772 and, heaven forbid, lower!

Ethereum Struggles to Break Free

Ethereum (ETH) has had its own share of woes. Since February 17, it maintained its position above $1,680 but couldn’t muster enough strength to break past the $1,743 barrier. Conventional wisdom suggests that if the price slips below the 50-day SMA of $1,550, we could see Ethereum tumble to its next support level of $1,461. However, if Ethereum manages to skate past that $1,743 ceiling, we might just be looking at the start of a delightful joyride toward $2,000.

Understanding the Rest of the Pack

Let’s take a quick tour of the other cryptos:

• BNB (BNB): After failing to break the resistant $318 barrier, BNB is caught in a frustrating range. Watch for moves below the 50-day SMA at $306.
• XRP (XRP): Trading within a descending channel, XRP must defend its crucial support level around $0.36 to maintain hope for bulls.
• Cardano (ADA): Trading in tight ranges near $0.38, ADA seems poised for a potential breakout, but it’s a waiting game.
• Dogecoin (DOGE): Stuck between $0.10 and $0.08, the canine coin is barking cautiously. Break either way could lead to price movement.
• Solana (SOL): The price broke resistance but couldn’t hold, trading dangerously close to support at $19.68. Man down!
• Shiba Inu (SHIB): This popular pup is between a rock and a hard place, as it flounders between ranges; buyers are desperately hoping for a breakout above $0.000014.