Bitcoin price analysis: BTC bulls eagerly await $20000

• BTC/USD sets a new all-time high at $19811 during the weekend
• CME, biggest derivative market in the world, launches its Bitcoin futures. You can track this new price feed in our Rates & Charts section for free

Bitcoin price reached close-to-$20000 levels but could not attack the level. The way BTC/USD is confronting such symbolic price landmarks is quite particular. As opening bearish positions its close to impossible, at least until Bitcoin futures are set and well-incorporated to the market, the technical picture of Bitcoin is very biased.

It's very interesting to observe the three situations that have happened during this past weekend. Our price feed provider offers a chart with some sharp moves, but that can't be seen in every Bitcoin price feed you can check. In the 1-minute chart, we see up to three bearish candles that triggered quick down-swings, and actually one of them reached $10000! The next candle opened at that level and swept any price level in the way up to recovering the previous levels. The fact that the low set by that quick fall rests in a trendline gives it some credibility. 

BTC/USD 1H Chart

MACD is resting above the equilibrium line with a bullish setup, so the most probable scenario still remains to favor the upside. A breakout of the trendline would give us a long entry. The fact that the price is so close to $20000 might delay the opening of new bullish positions until that symbolic level gets cleared.

Directional Movement Index shows declining amounts of sellers while buyers increased during the last bearish ride. Money comes and backs the bullish scenario for the next hours. Right now both sides appear to be quite balanced, but that tie could be broken at any moment.

BTC/USD 4H Chart

In the Bitcoin 4-hour chart, we can see some contradictions with the very-short-term analysis. MACD in this chart shows a structure divergent with the last bullish moves. This kind of setup diminishes the potential for a bullish continuation, contradicts the 1-hour analysis and adds up to a scenario requiring huge amounts of attention from traders.

Directional Movement Index is aligned with what MACD suggests, showing that sellers are in control, with room for a bearish development in Bitcoin price action. In the daily chart, sellers are ahead of buyers by a really small margin.

Conclusion

The technical picture shows contradictions between the short and the mid-term. Bitcoin charts propose more rises as the most probable scenario during the next few hours but with not much chance of holding to those potential bullish moves afterward. That should not be surprising, as it's the $20000 barrier we're talking about here when we still have the $10000 breakout in the short memory.

The arrival of the CME Bitcoin future opens up the door to institutional investors to the BTC/USD market. Regulatory limitations have prevented these big market players to intervene up until now in the biggest cryptocurrency market, but their first takes could bring a lot of money to the table. Moreover, the availability to open net short positions from now on should give Bitcoin a new dimension.