Autor Cointelegraph By William Suberg

Bitcoin (BTC) further tested $38,000 overnight as the weekend began with uncertainty among traders.BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView3-day chart could be “precursor” for weekly Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD circling $39,000 after several attempts to break $38,000 support.The pair had also seen a brief spurt above $40,000 Friday thanks to geopolitical developments, this nonetheless lasting a matter of minutes before the previous status quo returned.Such “fakeouts” to higher levels — which ended with Bitcoin coming full circle and liquidating both short and long positions — was already familiar behavior for market participants this month.Now, however, lower timeframes were beginning to show signs that a more significant downtrend could be on the horizon.“3 Day BTC candles are flirting with the 200 MA for the first time since the Covid crash,” analytics resource Material Indicators warned Twitter followers on the day. “If this is a precursor to what the Weekly candle is going to do, make sure you have enough powder to take advantage of the buying opportunity that follows. That bounce can change your life.”The 200-week moving average, currently just above $20,000 and still climbing, has acted as a historical bottom zone throughout Bitcoin’s lifespan and has never been violated.BTC/USD 1-week candle chart (Bitstamp) with 200MA. Source: TradingViewMeeting it would require a drop of 50% from current spot price, and 70% from all-time highs — something which BTC/USD has nonetheless achieved in the past.The Covid crash, for instance, saw a 60% dip in a matter of days before an equally strong reversal initiated a new price paradigm later in the year.Bitcoin remained at the mercy of stock markets during the week, meanwhile, these trending down to cap 2.9% and 3.5% weekly losses for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, respectively.Previously, popular trader Pentoshi had stated plainly that he believed a Wall Street Crash-style event could take hold of markets this year.Big and small BTC bets keep flowing inOn the plus side, whale buy-ins and smaller investor wallet growth provided reasons to be cheerful for long-term hodlers.Related: Bitcoin derivatives metrics reflect traders’ neutral sentiment, but anything can happenAs Cointelegraph reported, 30,000 BTC left Coinbase Friday, while exchange reserves mimicked decreases seen in July and September last year — immediately before Bitcoin made significant price increases.Big smart whale moved 24,000BTC today. Usually, transaction like this signify OTC trades. Good sign for $BTC pic.twitter.com/SLwmAGwotf— whalemap (@whale_map) March 11, 2022″10-100 BTC wallets are stacking like crazy, their supply is getting parabolic,” Lex Moskovski, CEO of Moskovski Capital, added about wallets, citing data from on-chain analytics firm Glassnode. “These guys correctly sold the meat of the $10k-50k Bitcoin move.”An accompanying chart showed that the proportion of the BTC supply now held by entities — one or more wallets assumed to have the same owner — now stood at its highest in a year.Bitcoin supply proportion held by entities with a balance of 10-100 BTC annotated chart. Source: Lex Moskovski/ Twitter

Bitcoin (BTC) saw instant volatility on March 11 amid hope that the Russia-Ukraine conflict could find a diplomatic solution.BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingViewHope rises — but so do Bitfinex shortsData from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD briefly surging $1,400 before reversing to consolidate below $40,000 Friday.The move followed fresh comments from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who in a meeting with Belarusian counterpart Aleksandr Lukashenko said that there had been “positive shifts” in the Ukraine dynamic.”There are certain positive shifts, negotiators on our side tell me,” he said, quoted by Reuters and others.Bitcoin, already known for not “liking” escalations in armed conflicts, immediately rebounded in line with European and U.S. stock markets. Germany’s DAX bounced 2.6% on the news, while S&P 500 futures were up 1.1% before the Wall Street open.At the time of writing, volatility remained on BTC/USD, with bulls attempting to crack $40,000 resistance more convincingly.Previously, however, warnings had come from those watching rapidly mounting shorts on major exchange Bitfinex — a classic sign that short-timeframe downside should be imminent.Explosive growth in #Bitcoin bitfinex shortshate to say it, capitulation incoming pic.twitter.com/FTQGt41UBQ— Cole Garner (@ColeGarnerXBT) March 11, 2022These were still climbing at the time of writing, visible on both daily and lower timeframes and at their highest levels since July 2021.BTC/USD shorts 1-day candle chart (Bitfinex). Source: TradingViewThe push to $40,200 local highs caused a moderate liquidation of short positions on derivatives platforms, data from monitoring resource Coinglass showed.Crypto liquidations chart. Source: CoinglassTraders remain coolBitcoin still remained short of the upper end of its established trading range, with the area north of $42,000 proving impossible to hold for long throughout 2022.Related: Buying big? Nearly 30K BTC leaves Coinbase Pro in 3 transactionsThe latest price action was a boon for some traders, however, with popular Twitter account Anbessa telling followers that all was going according to plan.$BTC/USD Update ✅bullish divergence playing out ✔️4th entry – > 4 bounce up 3% pic.twitter.com/QqZnheFLyQ— AN₿ESSA (@Anbessa100) March 11, 2022

Fellow trader Pierre meanwhile highlighted a rising support wedge that bulls should ideally preserve going forward.