Bitcoin remains in a consolidative mode on Wednesday, with bearish momentum being capped by the 50-daily moving average. At the start ща the week, the digital currency number one briefly dipped to the $8,800 region but bounced back quickly and created a long lower wick on the daily timeframes as a result.
On the upside, the cryptocurrency is capped by the $9,600 area, and as long as the prices stay below this level, downside risks persist in the short term. On the other hand, if the mentioned moving average withstands the potential pressure, a breakout could be expected eventually.
In a wider picture, BTCUSD looks neutral on the weekly timeframes, with RSI showing no signals that could help to guess further direction in prices. Of note, the 50-weekly moving average acts as significant support for the number one coin as well. On the positive side, the pair stays well above the 100- and 200-weekly Mas, suggesting the longer-term downside risks are also limited.
In the immediate term, bitcoin needs to challenge the $,9500 region to make a decisive break above the $,9600 mentioned intermediate resistance. Once above, the $10,000 psychological level will come back in market focus.
On the whole, it looks like that after a period of current consolidation, the prices may see a breakout at least to $10,000. A break above this barrier will depend on the bullish impetus while the $10,400 highs act as the key target for buyers in the medium term.
Both short-term and longer-term timeframes show a neutral tone in the RSI which means the cryptocurrency will likely struggle for direction for some time before a breakthrough takes place. By the way, since late Monday, the digital currency has been following the 50- and 100-SMAs on the hourly timeframes and remains above them. This technical signal confirms that the path of least resistance is to the downside at this stage.
