In the last 24 hours, the cryptocurrency markets were highly volatile, and the increased risk appetite quickly reversed due to a simple rumor. Everyone was expecting the SEC to approve a spot Bitcoin ETF by the end of January 10th next week. However, there were sudden changes in opinion when Matrixport analysts reported that the SEC would issue a rejection decision. Understanding this was difficult.
Bitcoin (BTC)
Significant macro data will be released on Friday, and we saw the Fed minutes published on January 3rd. The minutes indicated that some members were insistent on later interest rate cuts, which was negative news.
Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart still gives a 90% chance of ETF approval by January 10th. Moreover, the SEC had meetings with exchanges to discuss the Spot Bitcoin ETF, which made the stance of those insisting on a rejection decision seem meaningless.
Although Bitcoin surpassed the $44,700 resistance on January 2nd, it fell on January 3rd, turning this breakout into a bull trap. Buyers purchasing the dip down to the 50-day simple moving average ($40,938) reflected the bulls’ determination to defend the $40,000 region.
If BTC loses the $40,000 support, we could see deeper short-term lows, with the first support at $37,980. However, if BTC buyers push the spot price above $45,879, a continuation of the uptrend and a test of $50,000 could be expected.
Ethereum (ETH)
On January 2nd, bulls attempted to push Ether above the $2,445 resistance, but it coincided with the sudden shifts in general market sentiment that BTC experienced. The altcoin king, still at low levels in BTC parity, has been unable to start the long-awaited upward movement for a long time.
The price showed a sharp decline on January 3rd, falling below the moving averages. A small positive note is that buyers purchased the dip at $2,100, and at the time of writing, the $2,200 level was being maintained. If resistance can be overcome in the next attempt, the price could target the $3,000 and $3,500 resistance levels.
In a worst-case scenario, we could see a gradual decline to $1,900.
