Bitcoin (BTC) briefly flashed above $29,000 on Thursday, making fresh 2023 highs. It comes amid an increased crackdown by US regulators on crypto exchanges and other companies in the space, causing fear, uncertainty and doubt ( FUD) among them led investors.
According to data from TradingView and CoinMarketCap, bitcoin price hit $29,191 on Binance, touching levels last seen in November last year just before Sam Bankman-Fried crypto exchange FTX collapsed.
Bitcoin is trading in the green despite recent regulatory crackdowns
The flagship cryptocurrency’s price surge follows government crackdowns on crypto firms. On March 27, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) indicted Binance, its CEO Changpeng Zhao and its former CCO Samuel Lim for violating trading and derivatives laws.
Following the news, the major crypto fell 6.5% and lost support from the $28,000 psychological level. Binance’s internal token, Binance Coin (BNB), fell as much as 8% from $330 to lows of around $300 on the same day.
The regulatory crackdown claimed its new victim on March 29 when the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced Charges against crypto-asset trading platform Beaxy and its executives. The regulator claims Beaxy failed to register as a national securities exchange, broker and clearinghouse. The SEC also charges the Beaxy founder with raising $8 million using an unregistered asset BXY and embezzling at least $900,000 for personal use.
This is the second major lawsuit against a crypto company this month and the fourth in two months, including the indictments the SEC announced against now-arrested Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon
The fact that BTC’s price has surged amid such bearish developments has caught many market commentators by surprise. This is because some believe the Binance lawsuit will result in only minor fines for the largest crypto exchange by transaction volume.
Note that the Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index, which numerically captures the current “emotions and feelings” in the crypto market, has risen steadily over the past month despite the turmoil in the global banking sector.
According to data from Alternative, this index has returned to the “greed” zone, suggesting investors are buying more.
Crypto Fear and Greed Index
Some analysts attribute Bitcoin’s recent uptrend to large-volume buying by traders, which has more to do with their buying strategies than fundamentals.
Bitcoin bulls can take advantage of a bullish flag at $40,000
BTC price action has created a bullish flag on the daily chart (below). This is a very bullish pattern that signals the continuation of an uptrend. It was formed as Bitcoin bounced off the 200-day SMA (simple moving average) at $19,718 and surged (46%) before correcting to areas below $27,500.
The correction is widely believed to be an opportunity for buyers to take a breather while allowing late investors to get into the minor pullback before the uptrend resumes. It is usually confirmed when a deal is achieved above the flag. The goal is determined by measuring the percentage increase represented by the flag’s post and adding it to the breakout point above the flag.
The chart below shows that Bitcoin escaped the flag on March 29, paving the way for a massive bullish move. Therefore, BTC’s price could rise from current levels, with the first barrier emerging from today’s intraday high of $29,191. Clearing this hurdle would pave the way for the pioneer cryptocurrency to get closer to the prevailing chart pattern’s technical target at $40,113. Such a move would represent a 40% increase from the current price.
BTC/USD daily chart
Supporting Bitcoin’s bullish outlook were the upside moving averages and the Relative Strength Index (RSI) position in positive territory. Price strength at 66 indicated that the bulls had BTC price under control.
In addition, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator moved above the zero line in positive territory. Note that this trend-following indicator gave up a sell signal on March 29th, suggesting that the recent uptrend has been strong. The MACD’s position in positive territory shows that the market is still trending up.
Conversely, things could go awry for the largest cryptocurrency by market cap if the price turns down from current levels and creates a daily candle close below $28,000. Such a move would trigger sell orders that could take bitcoin back to $27,500 or $25,000.
