Bitcoin hits 3-week high as fresh impulse move sends BTC price to $43.3K

Bitcoin (BTC) saw a fresh impulse move overnight into March 22 as bulls briefly reclaimed $43,000.

BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView

RSI hints at underlying strength

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD reaching $43,337 on Bitstamp Tuesday, the pair's highest since March 3.

The action contrasted with the lack of volatility since the weekend, and neatly fitted with the more bullish predictions surrounding near-term trajectory.

For popular trader Crypto Ed, who had previously given $43,000 as a low-timeframe target, all was going to plan.

Fellow analyst Matthew Hyland meanwhile eyed a potential breakout scenario for Bitcoin's relative strength index (RSI) on the daily chart — a phenomenon which has often preceded price strength.

BTC/USD 1-day chart (Coinbase) with RSI. Source: Matthew Hyland/ Twitter

"BTC is a few hundred bucks away from the first higher high we've seen in a long time. Will it happen?" crypto market analyst Kevin Svenson added.

Bitcoin had already sealed an impressive weekly close Sunday, its highest since early February, and now, macro cues were adding to the positive momentum once again.

Trading was brisk for Asian markets on the day, the Hong Kong Hang Seng index up 3.15% at the time of writing.

In Europe, however, there was little sign of a knock-on impact, while U.S. futures were likewise trending down prior to the Wall Street open.

The push higher nonetheless did manage to squeeze out some short positions across cryptocurrency, as evidenced by data from on-chain monitoring resource Coinglass.

Total 24-hour liquidations stood at $168 million at the time of writing.

Crypto liquidations chart. Source: Coinglass

Ethereum returns to $3,000 in altcoin copycat rally

On altcoins, the picture likewise turned more rosy overnight.

The top ten cryptocurrencies by market cap were led by Cardano (ADA), which was 5.8% up in 24 hours to cap weekly gains nearing 20%.

ADA/USD 1-day candle chart (Coinbase). Source: TradingView

Other major tokens fared almost as well, including Polkadot (DOT) and XRP.

Ether (ETH), the largest altcoin, tapped $3,000 in step with Bitcoin's rally before consolidating immediately under that psychologically significant level.

ETH/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView