Bitcoin Clings to $9K as Trader Warns 200 DMA Loss ‘Significant Issue’

Bitcoin (BTC) struggled to maintain $9,000 support on Feb. 26 as analysts sought confirmation that more significant levels would remain intact.

Cryptocurrency market daily overview. Source: Coin360

BTC crisscrosses $9,000

Data from Coin360 and Cointelegraph Markets showed BTC/USD briefly falling through the $9,000 barrier several times on Wednesday. 

The build-up had taken just three days, Bitcoin falling by over $1,000 since the weekend. At press time, it traded at $8,995, down 4.3% on the day.

Bitcoin 1-day price chart. Source: Coin360

Traders had hoped that Bitcoin would capitalize on fresh uncertainty in traditional markets due to coronavirus. This failed to materialize, however, with Bitcoin falling in step with the broader economy. 

Now, interest increasingly focused on long-term watershed price points, specifically the 200-day moving average (DMA), currently at $8,789. 

In an update to Telegram trading channel followers, Cointelegraph Markets analyst filbfilb summarized:

Downside targets or the 200 DMA< 20 and 50 WMA seem good for a bounce but the 200 dma is never really lost in a bullrun so losing that could be more of a significant issue.

“In simple terms, I am looking to short a bearish retest of $9550 and am not bullish until we can break the pattern of lower highs and lower lows, to reclaim $10000,” he added in an accompanying TradingView post.

Brandt cautions on gold rally

For veteran trader Peter Brandt, meanwhile, Bitcoin staying muted as gold made gains should have already made traders wary.

“The fact that BTC could not rally in the face of the advance by Gold prices and drop in equities was a ‘tell,’” he tweeted on Wednesday.

At press time, gold was up 4.6% in dollar terms since it began an upshoot on Feb. 12. Year-to-date gains stand at 7.2%, while Bitcoin’s reached over 40% earlier this month.

Altcoins see 10% losses

Altcoin markets meanwhile fell considerably more than Bitcoin on daily timeframes. Ether (ETH), the largest altcoin by market cap, fell almost 10% to $228.

Ether 7-day price chart. Source: Coin360

Such drops characterized the top twenty cryptocurrencies, while some fared even worse. Litecoin (LTC) lost 12%, while Cardano (ADA) shed 14%.

The overall cryptocurrency market cap was $255 billion, down $27 billion since the weekend. Bitcoin’s share increased to 64.7%.