Here is why Bitcoin price could risk sliding below $20,000, as Fed tries to contain the banking crisis

Bitcoin (BTC) price sees its price action pumping higher with already 10% being claimed after the ASIA-PAC trading session handed it over to the European partners. Bulls should be aware of the reason why the US Federal Reserve and the US Treasury were so active in getting a rescue package for the implosion of Silicon Valley Bank and getting the markets to calm down by the US open this Monday. Several banks quickly came out over the weekend with calls that the Fed will not hike interest rates this month, while others think it must if it does not want to lose control over inflation.

Bitcoin traders need to grasp that the Fed’s first mandate is containing inflation, whatever it takes

Bitcoin price has been pushing sharply higher, erasing nearly all the negative price action from last week in just a single trading session. With the European and US trading sessions still to come, bulls could get the wrong impression that this rally has plenty of room to go. It does not, in the opinion of this author, because the Fed and the US Treasury have quickly worked out a solution before Monday, giving them the ability to still hike rates this month. 

BTC thus needs to price those hikes back into its price action, which means that all the gains from this Monday morning need to be erased. It fits perfectly as well with the technical analysis as the 55-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) at $22,800 is functioning as a firm cap on the topside. Expect to see an unwind back to square one with BTC nearing $20,000 and touching base around $19,725 at the 200-day SMA.

BTC/USD  4H-chart    

A small leg lower looks unavoidable. Certainly with the Relative Strength Index (RSI) breaking through the overbought barrier, there is not much upside potential left. Expect to see some support coming in around $21,969, which holds a superior technical performance from the past. A pause there could be helpful for a pop higher later this week, which could help BTC above $22,800 toward $23,878.