Autor Cointelegraph By William Suberg

Bitcoin (BTC) passed $44,500 at the Wall Street open on Feb. 15 with traders compounding overnight enthusiasm.BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingViewResistance attacks slowly formData from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView tracked local highs of $44,543 for BTC/USD on Bitstamp.Already up over 6% on the day, the pair saw a slow return to resistance levels after abruptly halting a multi-day downtrend toward the $40,000 mark.As Cointelegraph reported, events in Canada had appeared to spawn a comeback, while news that Russia was potentially taking steps to deescalate tensions on the border of Ukraine had no discernible impact on crypto markets.Stocks were more relieved, with the S&P 500 up 1.4% during the first hour of trading.”Bitcoin has broken out from its downtrending channel and reclaimed the 4HR range it had lost only a few days ago,” a hopeful Rekt Capital summarized in a fresh Twitter update on the day.BTC/USD 4-hour annotated candle chart. Source: Rekt Capital/ TwitterHe added that on longer timeframes, Bitcoin was attempting to crack the 50-week moving average to flip to support.”Turn it into support and this would confirm bullish bias for BTC,” he wrote.Not everyone was as confident, with popular trading account Johnny demanding a flip of the yearly open above $46,000 to avoid waiting to “buy back lower” than current levels.Stocks risk meets buyer powerTurning to on-chain data, the picture nonetheless called for “cautious optimism” based on buying behavior, despite macro risks.Related: ‘Up only’ for BTC fundamentals — 5 things to watch in Bitcoin this weekAccording to Twitter analytics account Ecoinometrics, investors both big and small making BTC allocations countered potential pressure on Bitcoin from falling stocks in the event of a rate hike from the United States Federal Reserve.”The whales are buying. The small fish are buying. That’s all good for Bitcoin,” it wrote.Analysts highlighted “exceptionally high” stocks correlation under current circumstances, thus increasing the potential for a deeper Bitcoin price correction should macro policy change.”That means anything that could crush the SP500 is also a big risk for BTC,” it added.Bitcoin correlation chart. Source: Ecoinometrics/ Twitter

Bitcoin (BTC) filled the CME futures gap in advance prior to the Wall Street open on Feb. 14, reaching $42,870.BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingViewTrader: Volatility gone, but not for longData from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD gaining swiftly on Feb. 14, with the start of U.S. trading keeping the pair around $42,500. Feb. 13’s weekly close had disappointed analysts, with Bitcoin failing to achieve a higher high on the weekly chart.While volatility remained absent on the day, expectations were already flowing in regarding a trend change in the coming days.#Bitcoin is on a boring county fair pony ride on the 50 MA.You know, the ones where the pony just walks in a circle connected to the big wheel in the middle?Yeah, that one. That’s #Bitcoin. On the 50 MA. Whatever, shut up. pic.twitter.com/ESb22iXlBo— The Wolf Of All Streets (@scottmelker) February 14, 2022″Well, the volatility has drained down on Bitcoin. Awaiting a heavy week to come, in which the volatility probably comes soon as EU stock markets are also providing it,” Cointelegraph contributor Michaël van de Poppe said in part of a recent Twitter post.With little action among stocks and tensions over the Russia-Ukraine situation also reduced, thanks to the prospect of a fresh round of diplomacy, crypto markets offered few opportunities for an easy trade.Order book volumes (OBV) likewise highlighted the narrow range in which BTC/USD was likely to act in the short term, thanks to trader positions.”Daily OBV showing a strong buyer response at the lows and a strong rejection at the highs,” popular Twitter account Nebraskan Gooner said. “This means we have a strong force on either end and could mean we chop around here for a bit.”$100,000 moved to 2023Confident as ever, meanwhile, stock-to-flow model creator PlanB looked to next year for the magical $100,000 Bitcoin to hit.Related: ‘Up only’ for BTC fundamentals — 5 things to watch in Bitcoin this weekPreviously calling for that price to occur by Christmas 2021, PlanB, who has faced significant criticism after BTC’s comparatively lackluster Q4 performance, admitted that the first two years of the current halving cycle had not delivered.Correct, S2F 2021 target was $100K and for 2022 it is also $100K, that never changed. However, BTC price data is below model line. So the question is, do we need to refit the model to the lower data, or do we have to wait until this cycle is done (prices can be higher 2nd half)?— PlanB (@100trillionUSD) February 14, 2022

The eerie calm, meanwhile, extended to major altcoins, many of which had barely moved in the 24 hours to the time of writing.Ether (ETH) was one, completely static at $2,940, while the biggest mover in the top ten cryptocurrencies by market cap, Ripple (XRP, was still only down 3% compared to Feb. 13.