Bitcoin Chart Analysis: BTC/USD short-term bears target at $9,600, buyers stay inactive

BTC/USD topped at $9,855 on Friday and retreated to $9,680 by press time. The first digital asset has been recovering slowly after a volatile start of the week.  The psychological barrier of $10,000 serves as the first important resistance. A sustainable move above this area will allow for the move towards the weekly high at $10,414. 

According to Intotheblock data, nearly 80% of the existing Bitcoin addresses are in a green zone now, which is also the highest level since February 16. The positioning data shows that nearly 1 million addresses holding 598 000 BTC are clustered between the current price and $10,022. large transaction volume increased slightly to $997k, though it is still well below the recent peak of  $14 billion.

BTC/USD: Technical picture

On the intraday charts, BTC/USD broke below the lower line of the narrow range of $9,750, which increased the selling pressure. At the time of writing, the price is hovering at the support created by a combination of 1-hour SMA50 and SMA100. If it is cleared the sell-off may be extended to $9,600 with 1-hour SMA200 located on the approach to that level.

The downward-looking RSI supports the bearish scenario. However, the dips to $9,600 are likely to be bought, which means the overall bullish sentiments will prevail. If the price moves below this area, $9,400 will come into focus. It served as a support during the previous consolidation period.  

On the upside, the first resistance comes at $9,8050 (the highest level of the day and the upper boundary of the consolidation channel). Once it is cleared, $10,000 will come back into focus.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart