Bull Grip Weakens As Bitcoin Price Breaks Below $7,000

Bitcoin remains on the back foot ahead of the weekend.

According to Coindesk's Bitcoin Price Index, the number one cryptocurrency by total network value fell below $7,000 at 11:25 UTC this morning and hit an eight-day low of$6,793. A minor bid wave seen during the Asian session today quickly ran out of steam above $7,300.

At press time, the bitcoin-U.S. dollar (BTC/USD) exchange rate is trading at $6,799 levels. As per data from CoinMarketCap, bitcoin has dropped 4.76 percent in the last 24 hours.

Following the setting of a new record high of $7,879 Wednesday, the bull grip now looks to be weakening – likely due to the rotation of money out of bitcoin and into alternative currencies following the suspension of the Segwit2x hard fork on Wednesday.

The odds look high that the sell-off will continue too, given the month's rally from $5,000 was in part a product of the perception that holders of bitcoin might receive free money should the hard fork result in a split of the bitcoin blockchain. Thus, the cryptocurrency could shed a significant portion of the $2,800 gains.

Looking ahead, the price action analysis indicates the odds are stacked against the bulls.

Bitcoin chart

The above chart shows:

• Bearish price relative strength index (RSI) divergence
• Double top reversal pattern with neckline support at $6,900
• The RSI has breached the rising trend line
• The trendline sloping upwards from the Sep. 15 low and Oct. 5 low is seen offering support around $6,260 levels.

View

• BTC looks set to breach the double top neckline support of $6,900. A close below $6,900 on the 1-hour chart could yield a sell-off to $6,200 (target as per the measured height method).
• However, only an end of the day close below the rising trend line support would signal a long-term bullish-to-bearish trend change.
• On the higher side, a break above $7,500 would revive the bullish move.

Climbing clips image via Shutterstock