Autor Cointelegraph By William Suberg

Bitcoin (BTC) bended to new macro pressures on March 4 after bulls failed to hold $42,000 for long.BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingViewEurope stocks sink on Friday openData from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD reaching lows of $40,800 on Bitstamp Friday after a major options expiry event.Overnight performance, initially showing a recovery, had been stymied by worries over a nuclear power plant fire in Ukraine.Stocks futures fell on the news, the severity of which was subsequently questioned.In Germany, the DAX index hit a one-year low on the daily open, with the S&P 500 yet to commence trading.”From recent high, index has lost 17%, way more than S&P 500,” markets commentator Holger Zschaepitz noted. “Investors are turning their backs on Europe as the risk of stagflation increases. This means that Europe’s comeback has failed yet again.”In Europe, the spotlight was also on commodities, with gas prices again touching new highs on Thursday. So too was inflation.Inflation data no longer matters much for central-bank policy prognostications, evidently. Italian inflation surged to a record for a third straight month, to 6.2% in February vs the 5.5.% median estimate, data released this morning show. Yet 2-year Italian yields are plunging. pic.twitter.com/8I4ZcTaSh4— Lisa Abramowicz (@lisaabramowicz1) March 1, 2022A cautious Crypto Ed thus laid out the near-term prognosis for Bitcoin with some trepidation.”So, really need that 5th leg. A deeper drop from here is bad news for the possibility of that 5th leg….. Especially when losing 40k again, we can skip the bullish vibes and start looking for shorts,” he warned on the day. “Bullish above 42, bearish below 40k.”No let-up for short-term altcoin performanceAltcoins characteristically suffered as Bitcoin continued to dip, with attention focused on Ether (ETH) and its trend versus BTC.Related: Bitcoin a ‘good bet’ if Fed continues easing to avoid a recession — AnalystETH/BTC 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingViewAlready struggling, sentiment took a further hit from news that Metamask was preparing to block ETH transactions in Venezuela in order to comply with government regulations.”By default, MetaMask accesses the blockchain via Infura, which is unavailable in certain jurisdictions due to legal compliance,” a blog post announced Thursday.The top ten cryptocurrencies by market cap were led by Solana (SOL) in terms of daily losses, SOL/USD down nearly 7%.

Bitcoin (BTC) corrected from highs above $45,000 on March 3 as traders’ optimism over continued upside remained in the driving seat.BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView”Liquidity taken” at $43,000Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD briefly dipping below $43,000 Thursday.The reset was expected, punctuating a multi-day uptrend which had seen the pair add $10,000 in a single week.”Short term correction happened on Bitcoin after taking the liquidity again,” Cointelegraph contributor Michaël van de Poppe summarized in a Twitter update.”Looks to me like we’re going to see another run to the highs, as the correction is not as swift as we normally would be.”Eyes were on the yearly opening price at just above $46,000, alongside order book resistance at $48,000.Meanwhile, accumulation continued, with smaller investors coming into focus as keen buyers at current levels.”The small fish are stacking sats like there is no tomorrow,” analytics resource Ecoinometrics commented alongside a chart showing buying habits this week.Bitcoin investor accumulation chart. Source: Ecoinometrics/ TwitterAltcoins retain higher volatility Despite the overall bullish performance this week, none of the top ten cryptocurrencies by market cap were all in the red on daily timeframes at the time of writing.Related: $45,000 Bitcoin looks cheap when compared with gold’s market capWhile BTC/USD was down around 1.8%, major altcoins fared worse, led by Solana (SOL) and Cardano (ADA), both more than 5% lower.Ether (ETH), the largest altcoin by market cap, shed 3.5% to return under the $3,000 mark, something which had yet to established itself as meaningful support.”The markets are relatively calm. People have low interest in crypto right now. Engagement is low on social media on all accounts,” Van de Poppe continued. “Ethereum gas fees are on an ultra-low level. Those are the times that you actually should start paying attention, as it gives opportunities.”ETH/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView

Bitcoin (BTC) is “looking pretty good” as the week progresses as bulls line up challenges for several significant resistance levels.In an update to Telegram subscribers on Mar. 2, Filbfilb, an analyst at trading suite Decentrader, joined increasingly bullish sentiment around the outlook for BTC/USD.Trader focuses on levels above $40,000After surprising the market with a breakout Monday, Bitcoin has risen to challenge February highs. While so far not beating them, investors and traders have reacted extremely positive to the news, and sentiment gauges show a swift transformation taking place on the market.For Filbfilb, the prognosis is just as rosy after BTC/USD passed both the 50-day moving average (MA) and a “massive” weekly level, both of which could now function as support.”Bitcoin looking pretty good mid week. HTFs have some key levels which are being challenged,” he summarized.In a bleaker scenario, the point of interest for bulls to hold is $40,770, this ideally forming the minimum close into the weekend on 3-day timeframes.”Bit of a crazy environment, literally on the brink of anything being possible, given the conflict,” Filbfilb added about the current macro situation.BTC/USD chart with levels marked. Source: Filbfilb/ TradingViewEven considering the turmoil currently enslaving global markets, however, signs that the worst is over for crypto as an asset class are flowing in. As noted by Jurrien Timmer, director of global macro at U.S. asset management giant Fidelity Investments, both Bitcoin and related stocks appear to have put in a “double bottom” formation.As such, for BTC/USD to continue, the existing February highs of just under $46,000 should be convincingly flipped to support.Looks like a potential double-bottom is in the making for BTC and the related equities. pic.twitter.com/gzbVqdG7Pg— Jurrien Timmer (@TimmerFidelity) March 1, 2022Daily chart support creeps higherOrderbook data from major exchange Binance likewise shows increasingly bullish moves by traders in recent days. Related: 3 reasons why Bitcoin price rallied toward $45K entering MarchAs Bitcoin has increased, bids have inched up in step, with new demand now lying at around $43,200. $45,000, meanwhile, remains a major area of sell side pressure.BTC/USD orderbook data chart (Binance). Source: Material IndicatorsAs reported by on-chain analytics firm Glassnode this week, however, zooming out, data suggests that almost every buyer at November’s $69,000 all-time highs has now capitulated, lessening overall desire to exit at price points between there and current spot.”During this 2.5 month long period of consolidation, a great deal of supply was transferred by top buyers into exchanges for sale. This supply was then gradually soaked up by higher conviction buyers, with the cost basis of these coins becoming more heavily weighted between in the $29k to $40k price range,” it explained in its latest weekly newsletter, “The Week Onchain.””This behaviour describes a broad scale weak hand to strong hand redistribution event.”