Is Now a Make-or-Break Moment for Bitcoin? Can BTC Still Break New Highs?

Author: Jack Inabinet, Bankless; Compiler: Deng Tong, Golden Finance

Crypto assets rose steadily overnight after a stagnant weekend as global market participants returned. But the trend stalled shortly after the US market opened! Why did the price encounter resistance?

Last month, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) confirmed that the pending Ethereum spot ETF application would be approved, which drove a surge in cryptocurrency prices, pushing many tokens into a stunning range of new cycle highs.

The unexpected shift in approval odds caused underexposed traders to enthusiastically imitate ETH, pushing the token to a new cycle high just above $4,000; BTC was pushed to within 2% of its all-time high, briefly touching $72,000.

While ETH set a higher local high last Monday, BTC suffered a heavy blow before setting a high last week, which could be a worrying sign for bulls and suggests that sellers still retain a degree of control. As BTC retreats from range highs to lower local highs for the third time after attempting a breakout, the cryptocurrency market appears to be at a critical make-or-break moment…

If the rally continues, BTC will quickly set a new all-time high, which will undoubtedly provide a major boost to valuations of the wider crypto assets, however, a breakdown from here will see the coin fall back to the $60k range lows that have supported prices for the past three months before further declines.

On the other hand, spot trading volumes for both BTC and ETH fell sharply last week, indicating a lack of interest at current prices, which suggests that the trend may be due for a reversal in the near future.

While crypto markets have been relatively free of major volatility following confirmation of spot ETH ETF approval, certain TradFi assets have seen erratic price swings, raising concerns.

Anonymous GameStock bull Roaring Kitty (aka Keith Gill) returned to the spotlight this weekend after a two-week absence from social media, revealing that he owns 5 million shares of GME, revealing himself as a whale that accumulated a large bullish position in the stock last week, and tweeting a green uno reversal card.

Amid the excitement surrounding the resurgence of memestock, GME more than doubled, rising as high as $45 in pre-market trading this morning, but has since given back most of those gains, falling as low as $28 in cash trading.

The New York Stock Exchange also experienced a major glitch, being forced to halt trading in 50 listed assets, seemingly due to a software update that impacted price range guardrails designed to limit volatility.

The most notable asset affected was Class A shares of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, which fell 99% at the open this morning before trading was halted.