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(Kitco News) - The selloff in the cryptocurrency market took another leg down on Friday as a late afternoon plunge in Bitcoin (BTC) has bears looking to test support at $27,000, which has plunged the majority of the altcoin market deep into the red.
In the equities market, stocks fell under pressure shortly after the opening bell but managed to claw their way back into positive territory as the day progressed, ultimately finishing slightly in the green. At the close of markets, the S&P, Dow and Nasdaq finished up 0.09%, 0.07%, and 0.11%, respectively.
Data from TradingView shows that Bitcoin bulls managed to defend the support at $28,000 through the morning session but were overwhelmed by bears in the afternoon, resulting in the top crypto falling to a low of $27,211 with the potential for further losses as the market heds into the weekend.
BTC/USD 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView
“Bulls are fading fast after prices hit a contract high last Sunday,” said Kitco senior technical analyst Jim Wyckoff, who observed that the “price uptrend on the daily bar chart has stalled out.”
“Bulls still have the slight overall near-term technical advantage but need to show fresh power soon to keep it,” Wyckoff warned.
The majority of analysts on crypto Twitter were in agreement with Wyckoff that the uptrend is at risk of being invalidated, with many setting their sights on entry points at lower support levels.
Market analyst Michaël van de Poppe posted the following tweet highlighting the demise of numerous support levels on Friday and pointing to the region between $26,600 and $26,900 as a possible entry point for a long.
#Bitcoin losing level after level, while Open Interest kept running upwards.
— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) April 21, 2023
At this point; $29.200, $28.700 and $27.700 are lost as crucial levels for continuation.
Next area for potential bounce plays; $26.600-26.900 to $28.700.
In between, no interest yet. pic.twitter.com/Gc6veDy2pv
Meanwhile, crypto trader ‘Ninja’ is “Still patiently waiting for $25ks to start scaling into a comfy swing,” and is treating everything else “as a dead cat bounce.”
BTC/USD 4-hour chart. Source: Twitter
While things look shaky for the top crypto in the short term, market analyst Moustache posted the following tweet providing a macro outlook that suggests its only a matter of time before Bitcoin price once again heads higher.
#Bitcoin (M)
— ????????????????? ?? (@el_crypto_prof) April 21, 2023
If you're uncertain, zoom out.??
-Every time the RSI was above 50, the bull run for $BTC has started.
-The CCI acts as a double confirmation.
No matter if 2011, 2015 or 2019 - always the same game.
RSI is above >50 again in 2023. CCI will follow.? pic.twitter.com/SqsuanDIXU
Altcoins take a beating
There was little shelter from the storm in the altcoin market as a handful of tokens recorded gains of 1-4% while the rest of the field plunged deep into the red.
Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360
Cartesi (CTSI), Render Token (RNDR), SSV Network (SSV) and Conflux (CFX) were the hardest-hit tokens in the top 200, suffering losses ranging from 10.38% to 16.5%.
The overall cryptocurrency market cap now stands at $1.15 trillion, and Bitcoin’s dominance rate is 45.9%.
