Bitcoin Drops Back to $5K Price Support After Failed Breakout

Bitcoin (BTC) has fallen back close to psychological support at $5,000 after a failed breakout Wednesday.

The number one cryptocurrency by market valuation made a strong bullish break from an ascending triangle pattern yesterday evening at 18:00 UTC, reaching a peak of $5,488 on the Coinbase exchange.

However, that move was quickly rejected and an increase in selling pressure on today’s open laid the pathway for bitcoin to slide, first to $5,200 overnight, then quickly to $5,018 soon before press time.

At press time, bitcoin is trading at $5,068, down over 3 percent for the session, as per CoinDesk price data.

The drop may now have thrown a spanner into a bullish market setup that had looked likely to propel prices to highs not seen since late last year. Had bitcoin’s triangle breakout succeeded, a measured move to $5,800 was on the cards. However, bitcoin fell $300 short of that target as buyer volume fell short on the day.

All is not lost, however. If prices remain above $5,000 at today’s close, the bullish chart structure will be intact. Going forward, we can expect the bulls to again make their presence felt, albeit likely after a short period of consolidation.

With bitcoin taking a hit, the wider crypto market is also flashing red at press time. Other top tokens, such as ether and XRP are fairing worse than bitcoin, posting 24-hour losses of 7.46 and 5.85 percent, respectively, according to CoinMarketCap data.

Disclosure: The author currently holds BTC, TRX and BTT.

Bitcoin image via Shutterstock