The BTCUSD pair has settled in a tight range, struggling to overcome the $65,000 level
Earlier this week, the bitcoin price reached a fresh all-time high of $69,000 in a knee-jerk reaction to the US inflation data. The report revealed a hump in the CPI above 6% year-on-year – the most in over 30 years. Bitcoin, which claims to be immune to inflation, derived support from the figures along with the dollar. However, the leading cryptocurrency failed to preserve gains and corrected aggressively to briefly break below the $63,000 figure.
Following the plunge, the BTCUSD pair has settled in a tight range, struggling to overcome the $65,000 level while on the downside, the downside pressure remains capped by the 20-DMA that has been acting as support this week. As long as the prices stay above this moving average, bearish risks are limited.
It is possible that after the current consolidation, the coin would refrain from challenging the mentioned SMA to stage another rally eventually. In this context, the $70,000 psychological figure comes into the market focus for the first time ever. To overcome this barrier, bitcoin may need a solid bullish catalyst in the form of upbeat industry news.
Meanwhile, on the weekly timeframes, the technical picture keeps improving, and after three weeks of consolidation, the digital currency has settled in positive territory, albeit off record highs. However, as the RSI is now flirting with the overbought conditions, it looks like BTCUSD would struggle to regain a sustained upside momentum in the short term.
Similarly, the Ethereum price came off all-time heaps seen around $4,800 on Wednesday. Today, the altcoin is changing hands in the $4,700 area, with the $5,000 mark staying in the market focus following the recent breakout. On the downside, the prices need to stay above $4,500 in order to avoid a deeper bearish correction in the coming days.
