Bitcoin (BTC) broke the $43,000 mark after Wall Street opened on March 3 amid falling U.S. stocks.
BTC/USD Hourly Light Chart (Bit Mark). Source: Trading View
Stocks, bitcoin fall at the open
I tracked Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView BTC/USD data as it remained in a tight range throughout the day of March 3rd.
$43,000 remained support overnight, but we saw several tests as traders saw a potential pullback to $1,000.
This was reported on March 2 by the popular Twitter account Credible Crypto, comparing the current behavior with the bull run that began in September 2020.
“Remember that a longer base usually results in stronger momentum. Withdrawing BTC up to 38K-42K is great.”
Others discussed earlier may enter a slightly higher local peak before range-limiting continues.
At the time of writing, BTC/USD is around $42,500, which is the low for March.
Stocks were on guard during the day, with the S&P 500 down 0.7% the day after there were clear signs of a possible hike in the key interest rate by the US Federal Reserve.
S&P 500 hourly candlestick chart. Source: TradingView
Likewise, geopolitical unrest centered in Europe remained a decisive force in the game as Russia and Ukraine teamed up to start further negotiations.
Return to safe harbor status?
Meanwhile, professional trading company QCP Capital is focusing on Bitcoin’s potential advantage over the largest altcoin, Ethereum (ETH), as macro events unfold.
Related: Bitcoin is a ‘good bet’ if the Fed continues to help avoid an analytics recession
In an update to Telegram subscribers on March 2, the company claimed that Bitcoin is regaining its safe haven status, while altcoins cannot say the same.
She wrote: “Focus on bitcoin has shifted even in high volume markets where perceived 10-day volatility for BTC is 4% higher than for ETH (99% vs 94.5%).
“This caused the implied volume of the spread between BTC and ETH to drop to its lowest level of around 7%. As the rapid recovery has accelerated, the implied volume has also become much softer. The monthly BTC rate fell to 65% from a maximum of 80%.
QCP added that “some downside risks” should remain in the second quarter thanks to Fed policy, regardless of the size and timing of the rate hike.
