Bitcoin market overview: $ 12,000 is the level to beat for the BTC bulls

The weekend love for the dominant cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, appears to remain unabated, despite a brief aberration seen earlier today.  However, traders witness a tug of war between the bulls and bears over the last hours, leaving the prices consolidating in a tight range between 11850- 11375 levels.

The bulls are seen trying hard to take on the recovery, but a bunch of stiff resistance is lined up around the 12000 levels. That area coincides with the 23.6% Fibonacci retracement (Fib) of Friday’s corrective upside on the hourly chart.

According to Tanya Abrosimova, Cryptocurrencies News Editor at FXStreet, “the recovery above $12,000 is regarded as a pre-condition needed to resume the movement within the long-term upside trend. As long as the price stays below the said barrier, we are in for range-bound trading. However, once it is cleared, the upside is likely to gain traction with the next focus on $12,600. This resistance is created by the upper boundary o 1-day Bollinger Band. The next critical barrier awaits us on approach to $13,000 followed by the recent high of $13,700.” 

On the flip side, a break below the 50% Fib level near 11,375 is needed for the bears to regain complete control, opening floors for a retest of the 10,300 level. However, the prices appear to take a breather after a volatile week, with the Relative Strength Index holding steady just shy of the 50 mark.  

To conclude, Bitcoin appears to wait for fresh catalyst for the next direction while the bulls continue to struggle below the 12,000 mark.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart

Levels to watch