BTC Back Under Pressure

Bitcoin bulls will be watching current price action with plenty of concern. Following a brief period of stabilisation yesterday and some shallow upside, BTC has come back under heavy selling pressure today, breaking down to fresh lows on the month. With BTC futures now down more than 12% from the record highs printed last week, expectations for ‘UPtober’ are under threat. Fresh trade barbs between the US and China have rocked risk sentiment this week with crypto assets suffering heavy losses across the board. Given the heavy liquidation of longs we saw on Friday’s decline, price looked to be stabilising yesterday, suggesting the move was merely a corrective order book clear out. However, with fresh downside momentum today, bulls are now questioning how much further the market can drop.

US/China Trade Threats

The main driver of the move lower here is the return to hostile trade threats between the US and China. As such, the drop can deepen near-term if hostilities remain and can potentially accelerate if Trump makes any sudden moves to lift tariffs. On the other hand, if Trump walks back tariff threats or the two sides note fresh attempts to negotiate, this should fuel a sharp rebound in risk sentiment, lifting BTC prices again.

Big Names Still Buying

Despite the drop lower, big names are still buying into BTC, positioning for an expected return to upside. Strategy noted its latest purchase this week of a further 220 BTC unites, taking its total holding to 640,250 BTC, worth around $73.6 billion currently.

Technical Views

BTC

The reversal lower in BTC has seen the market dumping heavily below the $121,500 level, now fast approaching a test of the $108,855 marker. With momentum studies bearish, risks of a break lower are seen with the key $100k level the main marker to watch if we do continue lower here. Bulls will need to defend that level to prevent a sharp bearish shift in sentiment and expectations.