Bitcoin (BTC) has once again shocked investors after a sharp sell-off yesterday saw it strip over $1000 in value in quick succession.
Over the course of 30 minutes, beginning at 16:00 UTC on Sept 24, prices dipped below $8,000 — its lowest point since June 12 of this year.
In addition, $30 billion has been sucked out of the market over a 24-hour period as investors sought to close their positions amid a frenzied sell-off.
Bitcoin Price Index
Eyes are now firmly fixed on the 200-day moving average (MA) that would officially mark the start of a new bear market should a strong close below $8,311 occur.
The price drop may have been exacerbated by margin calls and contract liquidations on Bitmex, according to a previous report by CoinDesk.
In any case, BTC’s 2019 bull market hangs on a thread.
Daily chart
As can be seen above, BTC has begun to break down from a bearish descending triangle that had been noted by a large portion of the crypto Twitter community since as early as Sept 2.
The $1,000 price drop flies in the face of Bakkt’s recent futures launch which was supposed to be a bullish catalyst but ended up falling way short of expectations.
Technicals point toward a short-term bounce, courtesy of an extreme oversold RSI on the daily chart and weaker histogram bars below 0. However, a measured move (the drawdown from peak to trough within the triangle) adds scope for a continuation to prior June 2018 supports near $6,100.
Pressure is on buyers to hold the defensive and retain the official bullish status above the 200-day moving average at $8,311.
All prices below that point would add credence to a new bear market for the remainder of 2019.
Disclosure: The author holds no cryptocurrency at the time of writing.
Bitcoin image via Shutterstock; chart via Trading View