Bitcoin remains under pressure, faces resistance at $45k

After yesterday’s 14% plunge, bitcoin (BTC) clawed back to around $40,000 during Asian hours but remained under pressure.

Sharp price swings have become the norm this week as the broader uptrend weakens similar to 2018, which was the start of a bear market.

• Bitcoin faces resistance around $45,000, defined by the 50-period volume weighted moving average on the four-hour chart.

• The relative strength index (RSI) remains oversold on the four-hour chart, although buyers are on the sideline as volatility rises.

• Bitcoin is stabilizing around the 200-day moving average. A decisive break below $40,000 would signal a trend shift from bullish to bearish.

• Lower support is seen around $27,000 which is a roughly 60% retracement of the March 2020 low.

• “$27,000 may be a more realistic gauge of support given the lack of oversold buy signals, which is probably a function of how fast the pullback unfolded,” said Katie Stockton of Fairlead Strategies in an interview with CoinDesk.

Four-hour bitcoin chart shows support and resistance with oversold RSI.
Source: TradingView

Sharp drawdowns of about 40% are common towards the end of a bull market similar to 2017 and 2018.

Chart shows the percentage decline in bitcoin from peak to trough.
Source: Koyfin