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Bitcoin Sell-Off Deepens Below $40K; Minor Support Nearby

A price drop to $37,000 could stabilize the current sell-off, although $30,000 is a more significant level to watch given the decline in long-term momentum.

Updated May 11, 2023, 3:39 p.m. Published Jan 21, 2022, 7:19 p.m.
Bitcoin daily price chart shows support/resistance with RSI on bottom (Damanick Dantes/CoinDesk, TradingView)
Bitcoin daily price chart shows support/resistance with RSI on bottom (Damanick Dantes/CoinDesk, TradingView)

Bitcoin (BTC) failed to hold short-term support at $40,000 as sellers maintained the two-month long downtrend.

Intraday oversold signals were not enough to sustain bids, which means longer-term indicators are more reliable to determine bitcoin’s price direction.

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BTC was trading around $38,000 at press time and is down about 10% over the past 24 hours.

The slowdown in upside momentum on monthly and weekly charts has been a persistent theme since December. As the long-term uptrend weakens, sellers typically outweigh buyers despite occasional oversold signals.

Further, when drawdowns (percent decline from peak to trough) become severe, short-term traders tend to reduce their position sizes and tighten trade parameters around intraday support and resistance zones.

Bitcoin is roughly 40% below its all-time high of $69,000, which is a significant drawdown. The previous drawdown extreme was in July when BTC settled near $28,000 after falling roughly 50% from its peak.

For now, initial support is around $37,000, which could stabilize the current sell-off. The relative strength index (RSI) on the daily chart is the most oversold since May 19, which preceded two months of sideways trading before a rebound occurred.

If selling pressure accelerates over the next week, BTC could find stronger support around $30,000.

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