Crypto Market Analytics February 17th | Dex-Trade
BTC's Correction, Restless ETH Bulls and Nimble MATIC: Results of the Trading Week and Expert Forecasts
Despite the recent tightening of cryptocurrencies by US regulators, the outgoing trading week was marked by a surge in prices. Many cryptocurrencies are showing significant growth, and this is especially evident in the recent growth of bitcoin, which unexpectedly regained its positions and provoked a massive market rally. In fact, institutional investors are building confidence in the potential of digital assets, which is projected onto the price dynamics of key coins. This can be partly explained by the passage of several bills in Dubai that have spurred the growth of the sector by attracting Web3 and crypto companies, as well as established crypto projects, NFT startups and metaverses. The price of the market flagship also jumped due to a short burst of network activity, which added about 44 million non-zero BTC wallets to the user base. In addition, the rise in short liquidations has also played a role in boosting BTC’s price momentum. Over the past 24 hours, traders have closed short BTC positions worth about $85.87 million. However, the growth constraint this week was the correlation between the price of bitcoin and "unreliable" assets, which periodically affects the enthusiasm of investors. And now the details.
BTC Correction after Testing the $25,000
After yesterday's powerful green candles, market players were extremely optimistic about Bitcoin and expected the price to consolidate above $25,000. But the bulls were already exhausted, which led to a price correction. Some analysts compare the current situation to the rise of the flagship during the first few days of 2023, when buying volume skyrocketed, resulting in a 40% jump in the price of BTC. However, at the time of writing, bitcoin is trading above $23,700, and its capitalization has grown from $419 billion to $458 billion since the beginning of the week, which indicates the initiative of buyers. At the same time, the popular Twitter analyst PlanB predicts the possibility of the flagship rising to $42,000 in just 14 days.
On the 4-hour chart, we see that the RSI remains above 50, so the buyers' potential has not been exhausted yet. MACD crosses the signal line from above, which indicates a decrease in bullish momentum. At the same time, the asset is trading above MA50. A new powerful support may form already above the $23,500 level. However, if the correction causes the price to fall below the $23,700 level, this could indicate a bearish breakout that will bring the price back to support near $23,300 at the 50% Fibonacci retracement level.
ETH Bulls Aim Above $1,700
Now crypto-silver is trading above $1,660, having lost only 1% of its value per day. The ETH/USD pair is in a consolidation phase in a tight trading range from $1,635 to $1,675 after being pushed back by strong resistance around $1,740. On the downside, the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level provides support in the $1,640 area. However, Friday's bull run looks to be in full swing as the asset's hourly rate of appreciation gradually increases to 0.39% at the time of writing. That is, the bulls are trying to provoke a new rally.
A break below the $1,635-$1,675 range could cause the price of ETH to drop to supports at $1,600 or $1,530. But a break of this range above $1,675 could cause the ETH price to reach the coveted $1,740 level and be able to consolidate above the key positions $1,700. At the moment, the 50-day moving average and MACD indicate buyer dominance. This is also evidenced by the RSI, which has stabilized in the overbought zone. In fact, the bulls still have momentum, but everything will depend on how correctly it is used.
MATIC Is the Leader of the TOP-10 List
MATIC has recently experienced an incredible breakout with continuous upward momentum and many market analysts are now optimistic about the future prospects of the coin. The weekly growth of the native currency Polygon amounted to more than 12%, and only in the last 24 hours its price increased by 3.7%. Both of these indicators are a record for the outgoing week among all assets from the TOP-10 on CoinMarketCap. And this is not surprising, since the MATIC blockchain is now actively gaining popularity in the NFT community due to low transaction costs.
According to market analysts, MATIC could increase the bullish momentum if it holds above the $1.4 level. In addition, a continuation of the trend above the 23.6% Fibonacci level (about $1.51) may provoke buyers to accumulate and, accordingly, increase the liquidity of the asset. The most ambitious target for the MATIC bulls at the moment is $1.75. However, a flip at $1.52 could create an uncertain situation that would reduce investors' confidence in long-term rates. If the RSI drops below the SMA-14, MATIC price could head towards a downtrend formation to $1.2.
