Bitcoin and select altcoins are showing signs of a potential recovery in the near term but higher levels could continue to attract sellers.
As the year comes to a close, investors are closely watching the Santa Claus rally on Wall Street as many believe that if there is no rally, next year could remain flat or negative.
Jurian Timmer, global macro director at asset management giant Fidelity Investments, tweeted on Dec. 19 that the U.S. equity market could remain “sideways” and fickle in 2023 even worse.”
Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360
The cryptocurrency market is heavily correlated with the S&P 500 in 2022. Unless the two markets diverge, sideways or negative action in the equity market cannot bode well for the cryptocurrency market.
Analysts are divided on Bitcoin’s future price action
BTC
Make a ticker below
$25,001
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Some expect recovery, while others anticipate another leg down. Let’s study the charts of the top 10 cryptocurrencies to determine the path of least resistance in the short term.
BTC/USDT
Although bitcoin has been trading below its 20-day component moving average (EMA) of $16,985 since December 16, bears have not been able to take advantage of this situation and this shows that lower levels are attracting buyers.
BTC/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView
of BTC/Tether
USDT
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of $1.00
On December 20, the pair rose slightly and reached the 20-day EMA. This is an important level for the bears in the short term, as a break above it could potentially rally to $17,622 and then $18,387.
In addition, if the price drops from the moving average and breaks below $16,256, the sell-off could accelerate and the pair could dive to $16,000 and then retest the critical level of $15,476.
A flat 20-day EMA and a Relative Strength Index (RSI) near 47 do not give bulls or bears a clear advantage. That could lead to random volatile price action in the near future as buyers and sellers try to assert their dominance.
ETH/USDT
Ether
Eth
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$1,704
On December 20, the pass bounced back from near support to $1,150, indicating that the lower levels are attracting buyers. The relief rally extends to the 20-day EMA of $1233 where bears can put up a strong defense.
ETH/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView
If the price goes lower than the 20-day EMA, the bear will make one more attempt to pull the ETH/USDT pair below support at $1150. If they manage to do that, the head-and-shoulders pattern will be complete in no time. The target target for this setup is $948.
Instead, if buyers catapult the price above the moving average, the pair could rise to $1,352. This level could again act as a major hurdle but if crossed, the rally could reach a downward trend line. Bears are expected to defend this level in full force, as a pause above it could signal a potential trend change.
BNB/USDT
BNB
BNB
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$316
It bounced from $220 on December 17, but the pullback is facing strong selling at the breaking level of $250. This indicates that the bears are trying to resist all levels.
BNB/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView
A downward sloping moving average and an RSI near 40 indicate that the bears are in command. If the price falls below $236 and breaks out, the BNB/USDT pair could retest support at $220. A break below this level can sink a pair to $200.
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If buyers force a price higher than the 20-day EMA of $265, this negative outlook could be invalidated in the near term. The pair could then extend their relief rally to the 50-day simple moving average (SMA) of $286, and later to $318.
XRP/USDT
XRP
XRP
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$0.40
It fell below $0.37 support on December 16, indicating that bears are strong in the near term. Over the next few days, the price is expected to oscillate in a wide range of $0.30 to $0.41.
XRP/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView
Any relief rally could meet stiff resistance at the moving average and back at $0.41. If the bulls want to dominate, they will have to catapult prices above $0.41. That could trigger a strong rally to $0.51.
On the downside, the most important support to watch is $0.30. If this level is cracked, the XRP/USDT pair could start the next step lower. The pair could then extend their decline to $0.25.
Doge/USDT
Dogecoin
Doge
Make a ticker below
$0.09
A critical level of $0.07 on December 19th
