Bitcoin Breakout From Sideways Churn Targets Key Hurdle

Bitcoin price has risen about 30% since its lows in June, but hints of a larger advance toward key resistance at $25,000 are beginning to appear. Prices have tagged the so-called upper Bollinger Band after a period where volatility was compressed, which is often a precursor to a sustained, directional move.

A similar stretch of low volatility was seen in June, which subsequently saw Bitcoin sliding after it tagged the lower band.

Crypto Altcoins Outperform as Tesla Sales Weigh on Bitcoin

(Bloomberg) -- Smaller cryptocurrencies such as Ether and Avalanche were outperforming Bitcoin as Tesla Inc.’s discloser of recent sales weighed on the market bellwether.

Bitcoin was mostly little changed after dropping as much 3.9% to $22,348 earlier Thursday. Ether, the second largest digital currency by market value, gained as much as 3.2% to $1,569. Avalanche climbed as much as 6.4% to $25.43.

The broader crypto sector continues to benefit from an increase in risk appetite, with technology shares leading gains among US equities. Bitcoin had been correlated with the tech shares amid much of the recent drop in prices.

Tesla said Wednesday that it sold about 75% of Bitcoin during the second quarter because of concern about overall liquidity of the company given the Covid shutdowns in China. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who has been as a major influencer in cryptocurrency, said the sales shouldn’t “be taken as some verdict on Bitcoin.”

Musk has expressed interest in Bitcoin and Dogecoin and at one point allowed customers to buy Tesla’s electric cars with the token. The company later suspended the Bitcoin payment option citing environmental concerns about cryptocurrency mining.

Tesla isn’t the only company that has adopted a Bitcoin strategy. Other companies to watch out for with significant Bitcoin holdings are MicroStrategy Inc. and Block Inc, lead by cryptocurrency advocates Michael Saylor and Jack Dorsey, respectively. MicroStrategy’s earnings will release Aug. 2, and Block on Aug. 4.

Bitcoin’s 50-day moving average which recently been a negative indicator for investors, despite a positive historical trend, has turned around, according to a July 21 note from Bespoke Investment Group, other similar moves have lead to large gains for Bitcoin, with notable exceptions.

“While short-term returns are generally good, a resumed long-term crypto bull market is hardly guaranteed based on the historical analogues,” the note read.