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(Kitco News) - The cryptocurrency market drifted lower on Tuesday as investors focused their attention on the stock market, which saw another day of gains on the back of strong earnings reports from multiple companies, including Bank of America and Morgan Stanley.
Despite the positive day for equities, investors continue to weigh the risk of a recession against the chance of a soft landing for the U.S. economy in the wake of the Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest rate hikes in 2023. At the closing bell, the S&P, Dow and Nasdaq all finished higher, up 0.71%, 1.06%, and 0.76%, respectively.
Data provided by TradingView shows that Bitcoin’s (BTC) price slowly inched lower throughout the trading day, sliding from $30,258 at the daily open to a low of $29,615 in the afternoon before bulls pushed it back above $29,900 as they attempt to reclaim support at $30,000.
BTC/USD Chart by TradingView
August Bitcoin futures prices traded slightly lower in early U.S. trading, according to Kitco senior technical analyst Jim Wyckoff, who noted that otherwise, there’s “Not much new this week.”
Bitcoin futures 1-day chart. Source: Kitco
“Prices last week hit a contract high but trading has since turned sideways and choppy at higher levels again,” Wyckoff said. “The bulls have the slight overall near-term technical advantage but need to move prices above the recent choppy and sideways trading range to gain fresh power.”
MN Trading founder Michaël van de Poppe noted that a sweep of the lows from a previous candle occurred before the price rebounded but questioned if additional downside was still necessary before the uptrend can resume.
Sweep did take place on #Bitcoin.
— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) July 18, 2023
First down, then up.
Is it enough or will we sweep $29,500? Would be a shame if we didn't.
Breaking above $30,000 and things can accelerate. pic.twitter.com/XucHpO4KVT
Rekt Capital posted the following chart, saying, “After upside wicking beyond the ~$30600 resistance, BTC has finally been rejected to the point of losing the Higher Low. [A] Weekly Close below the Higher Low will confirm this loss and as long as this HL acts as resistance.... ~$29300 could be next.”
BTC/USD 1-week chart. Source: Twitter
And market analyst Crypto Tony said Bitcoin is showing signs of weakness and expects its price could dip as low as $28,500 in the coming weeks before ultimately heading higher.
$BTC / $USD - Update #Bitcoin sure looks weak right now so my thoughts on a dip down to $28,500 remains firm. This is something i see playing out in the next few weeks and if we get a slow bleed, #Altcoins should hold well .. And i say should loosely pic.twitter.com/ZPwXZLhtT6
— Crypto Tony (@CryptoTony__) July 18, 2023
Altcoin traders take profits
It was an all-around red day for the altcoin market as all but roughly two dozen tokens in the top 200 were in the negative on Tuesday.
Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360
No tokens experienced a gain in excess of 5%, while Stepn (GMT) declined 14%, Arkham (ARKM) lost 12%, and 1inch Network (1INCH) fell by 11.85%.
The overall cryptocurrency market cap now stands at $1.2 trillion, and Bitcoin’s dominance rate is 48.1%.
