- BTC saw a bearish Saturday, losing 0.06% to finalize the session at $16,958.
- News of Huobi trimming its staff by 20% amidst an ongoing restructuring triggered a rumor mill in the crypto space, preventing Bitcoin from a $17K return.
- Nonetheless, the fear and greed remained stable at 25/100, suggesting an upcoming bearish session.
Saturday’s bearishness saw Bitcoin losing 0.06%, trimming Friday’s 0.75% upswing to end yesterday near $16,958. Meanwhile, the world’s largest crypto failed to reclaim $17K while it avoided sub-$16.5K. However, bullishness early on Saturday pushed BTC to $16,990-morning highs.
Bitcoin could not battle the nearest massive resistance mark of $17,216, triggering dips toward $16,924 late morning lows. The crypto found a support level around the first dependable foothold near $16,925 and rallied to close the session at $16,958.
BTC Flat Amid Huobi Global Updates and Declining Trading Volumes
Bitcoin saw its trading volumes plummet throughout Saturday’s session. After a bullish Friday that emerged from the eased predictions of the Fed’s 50bp rate increase in February, the market had no external forces to direct investors.
Non-manufacturing sector contraction potentially welcomed worries about the economic picture. However, fears of a hard landing will prevail amidst Federal policy uncertainty. Considering the 3.5% United States unemployment rate, the Federal Reserve can drag inflation to target levels without risking unemployment rates beyond the 5% command.
Amidst the light volumes, updates of Huobi Global reducing its staff by 20% pushed market players to the sidelines. However, there wasn’t a broad-based market sell-off, with news of Justin Sun sending stablecoins worth $100M to Huobi easing worries of liquidity crunches.
Huobi coin (HT) gained 0.51% yesterday. Nonetheless, crypto winter headwinds leave the platform prone to rumors. As a result, investors will watch cryptocurrency news wires today.
Any update of Huobi contemplating suspending withdrawals will deteriorate investor sentiment. Further, the NASDAQ mini will likely influence the space during the final hour as market participants prepare for 2023’s second trading week.
Fear and Greed Index Still in Extreme Fear Territory
The Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index remained stable at 25/100 today. After Saturday’s decline into the Extreme Fear region, there weren’t external market forces of events to support returns to the Fear level. Worries about regulatory landscape shifts, contagion risks, and lingering economic recession present challenges that limited the index’s return to the neutral region.
The index has to avoid the 20/100 region to avoid near-term trouble. Meanwhile, BTC bulls must target pre-FTX fall levels (6 November highs) at 40/100 to back uptrends to $20K.
BTC Price Action
BTC lost 0.09% to $16,942 during this writing. Earlier range-bound moves saw the crypto climbing to $16,968 highs before dropping to $16,930. The asset should climb past $16,957 to open the road toward the nearest crucial resistance mark of $16,991. Reclaiming $17K would welcome a bullish wave for Bitcoin. Nonetheless, market-friendly news remains crucial for decisive breakouts.
Extended bullish efforts would propel BTC to test the 2nd enormous resistance at $17,023. Another obstacle locates at $17,089. Nonetheless, dropping below the highlighted $16,957 would welcome declines to the closest support barrier near $16,925.
Excluding risk-off-triggered crashes, Bitcoin should dodge the $16,850 region. The $16,891 2nd reliable foothold should prevent more slides. BTC would enjoy another footing at the $16,825 mark. However, adverse cryptocurrency events would see BTC at sub-$16K.
