Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) Prices Steady

Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) Weekly Technical Forecast: Bearish

• Bitcoin (BTC) prices find temporary support between Fibonacci levels from the 2017 – 2018 move.
• Ethereum bounces off psychological support but a rejection of technical resistance drives price action into a narrow zone.
• FTX collapse and ongoing investigation limits gains as investors turn to more secure assets.

FTX, Sam-Bankman Fried and Cryptocurrency: What’s driving BTC?

Bitcoin (BTC) was able to avoid further losses over the past week despite the ongoing investigation into the collapse of FTX and its founder, Sam-Bankman Fried.

In less than two weeks, the former billionaire who founded the major crypto exchange has lost creditability and fame in the saga that has taken headlines by storm.

Updates in the FTX bankruptcy case

• John J. Ray (who led the Enron bankruptcy) says FTX exhibited a “complete failure of corporate controls”.
• Financial statements lack clarity as over a million creditors seek compensation for losses.
• Contagion spreads as Genesis and Blockfi face risk of bankruptcy

With a string of bankruptcies now leading to a trail of over a million creditors, the extent of the damages is yet to be assessed. As market participants continue to monitor the investigation closely, Bitcoin and Ethereum price action has stalled, temporarily muting the downward move.

Although BTC/USD is still trading over 18% lower for the month and over 75% lower since reaching the November 2021 high, it isn’t the first time that we’ve seen these types of moves.

Between December 2017 and December 2018, Bitcoin fell from $19666 to $3122.28, losing around 84% of its value. Between June 2019 and March 2020, prices plunged by around 72% before surging by 1692% to reach last year’s all-time high of $69000.

With the weekly chart highlighting the longer-term price action, the same Fibonacci levels that formed from the 2017 -2018 decline are coming back in play.

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As a zone of confluency has formed between $15761.68 & $17383.7, the 23.6% and 14.4 retracement of the above-mentioned move is providing support and resistance for BTC.

Bitcoin (BTC/USD) Weekly Chart

Chart prepared by Tammy Da Costa using TradingView

From the daily chart, the smaller-bodied candles shows limited moves as that Fibonacci zone begins to form a tighter range. If the bears regain control of the trend, a move below the weekly open of $16300 draws attention to the $16000 psychological level. A break below both levels could see bearish momentum increase towards the November low at $15632, opening the door for a move towards the June 2019 high of $13880.

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Bitcoin (BTC/USD) Daily Chart

Chart prepared by Tammy Da Costa using TradingView

For Ethereum, an inverted hammer illustrated a temporary recovery as the candle found support above $1200. With the 23.6% Fibonacci of the 2020 – 2021 move forming additional resistance at $1216.42, the next level of resistance holds at around $1253

Ethereum (ETH/USD) Daily Chart

Chart prepared by Tammy Da Costa using TradingView

— Written by Tammy Da Costa, Analyst for DailyFX.com

Contact and follow Tammy on Twitter: @Tams707