Bitcoin Price Analysis: BTC retests $48,000 resistance, headed lower again?

TL;DR Breakdown

• Bitcoin price analysis is bearish today.
• BTC/USD set a lower high at $48,000 yesterday.
• Reaction lower seen earlier today.

Bitcoin price analysis is bearish today as we expect another lower high set yesterday to result in a reversal back to the downside. If BTC/USD can hold above $46,000 support, we could see another attempt to break higher next week.

The cryptocurrency market has traded in the green over the last 24 hours. The market leader, Bitcoin, has gained 0.43 percent, while Ethereum 1.4 percent. The rest of the altcoins followed with similar results, Polkadot (DOT) being among the best performers, with a gain of over 8 percent.

Bitcoin price movement in the last 24 hours: Bitcoin retraces to $48,000, sets lower high

BTC/USD traded in a range of $46,891.16 – $47,827.31, indicating a moderate amount of volatility over the last 24 hours. Trading volume has declined by 22.37 percent, totaling $22.74 billion. Meanwhile, the total market cap trades around $891.5 billion, resulting in a market dominance of 39.87 percent.

BTC/USD 4-hour chart: BTC looks to decline again?

On the 4-hour chart, we can see bearish momentum returning for the Bitcoin price action as the $48,000 mark offered strong resistance. 

Bitcoin price action saw a sharp reversal this week after previously rallying above $51,500 on the 24th of December. Another higher low was set at $49,500, setting up a move to the upside again at the end of the last weekend.

The following rally quickly took BTC/USD to a new high at $52,000, with sharp rejection seen shortly after. From there, BTC dropped past the previous local low and declined even further over the next days.

The $46,000 major support finally stopped the decline late on Thursday, leading to a reaction and retest of the $48,000 mark as resistance. Another brief spike lower followed on Friday, with the market returning to the resistance late yesterday with a lower local high set. 

Bitcoin Price Analysis: Conclusion 

Bitcoin price analysis is bearish today as we expect another drop to follow after resistance at $48,000 prevented further upside. Likely, BTC/USD will move to set a higher low over the next 24 hours.

While waiting for Bitcoin to move further, see our articles on crypto tax-loss harvesting, BTC-backed mortgage services, and Pi Wallet.