Bitcoin bulls risk trading range loss as BTC price nears 2-month lows

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<p>Bitcoin (BTC) targeted two-month lows on Aug. 17 as United States inflation returned to spook cryptocurrencymarkets.</p>
<figure><img decoding="async" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2023-08/3a812efe-f2a6-4fcb-aee5-1b06d9090dc6.png" /><figcaption><em>BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: TradingView</em></figcaption></figure>
<h2>BTC price teases exit from months-long corridor</h2>
<p>Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView confirmed the lowest BTC price levels since June 21 as BTC/USD wicked to $28,300.</p>
<p>The downside came after the United States Federal Reserve published the minutes of its July meeting to discuss future monetary policy.</p>
<p>Members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) revealed concerns that inflation might remain elevated without further interest rate hikes — something risk assets did not wish to see going forward.</p>
<p>“Participants discussed several risk-management considerations that could bear on future policy decisions,” the minutes read. </p>
<blockquote><p>“With inflation still well above the Committee’s longer-run goal and the labor market remaining tight, most participants continued to see significant upside risks to inflation, which could require further tightening of monetary policy.”</p></blockquote>
<p>While the Fed equally voiced “uncertainty” over the effects of existing monetary tightening, Bitcoin and altcoin traders reacted bearishly to its language, sending BTC/USD through multiple recent support levels.</p>
<p>These included the 21-week and 100-day simple moving averages (SMAs) at $28,600 and $28,570, respectively.</p>
<figure><img decoding="async" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2023-08/9494a995-a7d4-41c2-a740-ffb83034956e.png" /><figcaption><em>BTC/USD 1-day chart with 21-week, 100-day SMA. Source: TradingView</em></figcaption></figure>
<p>Bitcoin also challenged the lower boundary of the multi-month trading range, previously highlighted by popular traders Daan Crypto Trades and Crypto Tony.</p>
<figure><img decoding="async" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2023-08/36c28e54-7c31-4d64-9d98-2fb5c98a55d0.jpeg" /><figcaption><em>BTC/USD annotated chart. Source: Daan Crypto Trades/X</em></figcaption></figure>
<p>“$28,800 has now been lost on Bitcoin so i will be looking to short this down now while we remain below $28,800,” the latter <a href="https://twitter.com/CryptoTony__/status/1692063961850790324/photo/1" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">told</a> X subscribers on the day, adding that $28,000 was his first target.</p>
<figure><img decoding="async" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2023-08/9fd377df-6682-4722-adb3-ab82e511119c.jpeg" /><figcaption><em>BTC/USD annotated chart. Source: Crypto Tony/X</em></figcaption></figure>
<h2>Markets retain rate hike pause bets</h2>
<p>Not everyone meanwhile appeared convinced that the next FOMC meeting in September would yield higher rates.</p>
<p><strong><em>Related: Bitcoin speculators now own the least BTC since $69K all-time highs</em></strong></p>
<p>According to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool, the odds of the Fed keeping the current rate intact remained at near 90% after the minutes release.</p>
<figure><img decoding="async" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2023-08/62c1c2af-7940-46da-a9e9-1574a5fa6ca0.png" /><figcaption><em>Fed target rate probabilities chart. Source: CME Group</em></figcaption></figure>
<p>Analysts themselves were also far from unanimous. In a forecast last week, Caleb Franzen, senior analyst at Cubic Analytics, said that it was disinflation, rather than inflation, which was exhibiting “sticky” behavior.</p>
<p>“Disinflation + stronger earnings + stronger economic data + nearing the end of the rate hike cycle has been a perfect recipe for market returns and the development of an uptrend,” he argued. </p>
<blockquote><p>“While these conditions could change in the future, I don’t see any evidence that it’s changed yet.”</p></blockquote>
<p><strong><em>Magazine: Deposit risk: What do crypto exchanges really do with your money?</em></strong></p>
<p>This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.
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<br /><a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-bulls-risk-trading-btc-price-nears-2-month-low">Source link </a></p><p>The post <a href="https://forextraderhub.com/bitcoin-bulls-risk-trading-range-loss-as-btc-price-nears-2-month-lows.html">Bitcoin bulls risk trading range loss as BTC price nears 2-month lows</a> first appeared on <a href="https://forextraderhub.com">Forex Trader Hub</a>.</p>