Bitcoin made a sharp tumble below the area of interest at the $6,800 level, and many are pinning the blame on the SEC decision to delay their bitcoin ETF ruling. Another factor that may have contributed to the drop is the pickup in risk aversion in financial markets worldwide on account of China’s announcement to match US tariffs on August 23.
Cryptocurrencies have already been in selloff mode for the past few days leading up to the SEC announcement, so it’s no surprise that their notice led to yet another sharp move down. Price now seems to be setting its sights on the lows back in June around $5,700.
The 100 SMA is still above the longer-term 200 SMA on the 4-hour chart, for now, to signal that the path of least resistance is to the upside. This suggests that there’s still a chance for support levels to hold and for bullish momentum to stay in play. Then again, the gap between the moving averages is narrowing to signal weaker bullish pressure.
RSI is moving out of the oversold region, though, indicating that buyers are returning while sellers take a break. Stochastic is also heading up so bitcoin could follow suit while buyers take over. However, this might merely lead to a quick pullback to the broken support that might be able to keep gains in check.
The SEC plans on announcing their decision on the bitcoin ETFs over the next two months, keeping investors waiting for much longer. Approval could prove positive for bitcoin and the industry overall while another denial could set these altcoins further back.
In their statement, the SEC noted:
Accordingly, the Commission … designates September 30, 2018, as the date by which the Commission shall either approve or disapprove, or institute proceedings to determine whether to disapprove, the proposed rule change.
Will the price of Bitcoin rebound? How critical is the ETF decision to the BTC market? Let us know in the comments below.
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