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Bitcoin’s price was quoted in five digits across cryptocurrency exchanges earlier today, but the breakout into $10,000 was short-lived.
The number one cryptocurrency by market value jumped to $10,350 at 01:45 UTC – the highest level since Sept. 24 – according to Bitstamp data. Meanwhile, the global average price, as calculated by CoinDesk’s Bitcoin Price Index, clocked a high of $10,332.
Just 24 hours ago, the cryptocurrency was reeling under bearish pressures below $7,500 and prominent chart analysts were calling a deeper drop, courtesy of the so-called “death cross” – a bearish cross of long-term moving averages.
BTC, however, picked up a bid around $7,500 in the early U.S. trading hours on Friday and rose to $8,800 at 17:20 UTC. Prices then consolidated in the narrow range of $8,500 to $8,700 for a few hours, before printing highs above $10,000 earlier today. Essentially, the death cross trapped sellers on the wrong side for the fourth time since 2014.
Bitcoin closed (UTC) at $8,662 on Friday, representing a 16.51 percent gain on the day, as per Bitstamp data. That is the biggest single-day rise since April 2. Back then, BTC had rallied 18.45 percent from $4,133 to $5,080.
Further, the rise from lows below $7,400 to highs above $10,300 is reportedly the third-largest 24-hour price gain in bitcoin’s history, as pointed out by crypto-asset analyst Yassine Elmandjra.
Experts have associated the latest double-digit surge with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s comments that the world’s second-largest economy should accelerate its adoption of the blockchain technology. After all, China was one of the biggest sources of demand for cryptocurrencies during the 2017 bull run.
Prominent observers like Anthony Pompliano are of the opinion that the Chinese president’s public support of the blockchain technology will force the U.S. and other major nations to embrace the technology, perhaps boosting bitcoin.
The investor community, therefore, is expecting the rally to continue. Some observers, however, are worried that the market optimism is premature, as China is developing a digital version of its own currency and is unlikely to lift its ban on bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
It remains to be seen whether Xi’s comments power further gains in BTC. The cryptocurrency is losing altitude at press time.
As of writing, BTC is changing hands at $9,320 on Bitstamp, representing a $1,000-plus drop from the Asian session high of $10,350. Technical charts indicate a bullish breakout would be confirmed if prices find acceptance above $9,750.
The daily chart shows early signs of a bullish reversal. For instance, bitcoin’s convincing move above $8,352 (Oct. 21 high) has invalidated the bearish lower highs setup. The cryptocurrency has also violated resistance at $8,820 (horizontal line).
However, the cryptocurrency is yet to exit the falling channel, represented by trendlines connecting June 26 and Aug. 6 highs and July 17 and Sept. 26 lows.
A UTC close above the upper edge of the bearish channel, currently at $9,750, would imply a resumption of the rally from lows near $4,100 seen on April 2 and put the cryptocurrency on the path to re-test of the high of $13,880 hit in June.
Put simply, a channel breakout is needed to confirm a bearish-to-bullish trend change.
Disclosure: The author holds no cryptocurrency assets at the time of writing.
Hot air balloons image via Shutterstock; charts by Trading View
