Bullish view
- Buy the BTC/USD pair and set a take-profit at 18,000.
- Add a stop-loss at 16,000.
- Timeline: 1 day.
Bearish view
- Set a sell-stop at 16,670 and a take-profit at 15,500.
- Add a stop-loss at 17,500.
The BTC/USD price remained unchanged at about 17,000 as investors reacted to the latest American jobs numbers. It also consolidated as investors reflected on new revelations of the collapse of FTX and Alameda Research. It has risen by over 9.9% from the lowest level this year.
Bitcoin in a consolidation phase
Bitcoin price has been in a tight range in the past few days as the market reflects on Sam Bankman-Fried’s interviews last week. In interviews with ABC and New York Times (NYT), Bankman was questioned on whether FTX moved client funds from FTX to Alameda Research, his trading company.
Most legal analysts believe that Bankman and his company committed crimes, which will see him serve time in prison. At the same time, analyst caution that more companies in the crypto industry are exposed to similar conditions since the industry is not highly regulated. This week, analysts will continue focusing on FTX’s bankruptcy.
Meanwhile, the BTC/USD price reacted to the latest economic numbers from the United States. Data published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the American economy added over 282k jobs in September while the unemployment rate remained at a historic low of 3.7%.
Therefore, these numbers show that the Fed has more room to tighten monetary conditions. In his statement last week, Jerome Powell said that interest rates will remain at an elevated level for a while. Economists now expect that the Fed will hike rates by 0.50% in December, bringing the year-to-date increases to 450 basis points.
Further, on-chain data shows that activity in the crypto market is still mild. The number of new accounts has dropped as new investors remain wary about cryptocurrencies. At the same time, Bitcoin’s hash rate, which is a sign of the sector’s health, has dropped to the lowest level in two weeks.
BTC/USD forecast
The four-hour chart shows that the BTC/USD price has been in a consolidation phase in the past few days. It is trading at 17,000, which is a few points above the lowest level this year. It also rose above the descending trendline shown in yellow.
The pair is consolidating at the 25-day and 50-day moving averages and forming an inverted head and shoulders pattern. Therefore, Bitcoin will likely have a bullish breakout as buyers target the key psychological level at 18,000.
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