Bitcoin prices seem stuck between $19,000 and $20,000.
Ozan KoseAFP via Getty Images
Bitcoin
and other cryptocurrencies were mostly lower Wednesday as the digital asset space remained uncharacteristically non-volatile. Near-term hopes of a rally have faded after Bitcoin fell short of a technical market level.
The price of Bitcoin has declined 1% to below $19,250. The largest cryptocurrency remains stuck in range-bound trading between $19,000 and $20,000, a zone in which it has held for much of the period since early September amid remarkably low volatility.
“Bitcoin has remained in a tight range,” said Joe DiPasquale, CEO of crypto asset manager BitBull Capital. “For now, the market remains indecisive as we wait for the economy to settle down and inflation readings to start reverting.”
Amid a gloomy macro outlook of high inflation, rising interest rates, and recession fears, cryptos have become largely correlated with other risk-sensitive assets, typically swinging in step with the
Dow Jones Industrial Average
and
S&P 500.
Hopes that Bitcoin had hit its bear market bottom—trading at less than one-third its all-time high from November 2021—seem to have faded. A recent loss of momentum came before Bitcoin could breach its 50-day moving average around $19,700, a technical level that analysts were watching for a big move above $20,000.
“Continued tests on the downside may result in the price falling to June lows and beyond,” said DiPasquale. Bitcoin’s June lows came in around $17,600. “On the upside, any rally is likely to be limited in the absence of bullish macro economic data.”
Beyond Bitcoin,
Ether
—the second-largest crypto—lost 2% to $1,300. Smaller cryptos or altcoins were also lower, with
Solana
and
Cardano
down 2% each. Memecoins were more mixed, with
Dogecoin
up less than 1% and
Shiba Inu
1% into the red.
Write to Jack Denton at jack.denton@barrons.com
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