Bitcoin consolidates at ~$27,000

On the charts, after dipping below $25,000 in mid-September, which was near previous support in the middle of June, Bitcoin has enjoyed a very steady upswing.

The world’s most popular cryptocurrency eventually pushed up above its 50-day simple moving average around $26,700 in late September, after failing to do so a week earlier.

But traders have now come up against both the 100-day and 200-day simple moving average, just above $27,000. In fact, the 200-week moving averages also sits close by, currently at $28,018.

A move higher through this resistance zone will see prices back into the summer range above $29,000.

Cryptocurrencies have struggled in the wider, macro environment as they have proved to be more cyclical “high beta” assets.

That means they are closely correlated with risk-on events and high volatility, so don’t do so well when markets are uncertain, and the economy is entering a slowdown.

But there is no doubt that exchange traded funds (ETFs) and increased regulation, with a spot ETF potentially being approved in the future, could see more investors return to crypto, with certainly less worry about fraudulent exchanges.

Market developments …

• Crypto enthusiasts are not enjoying positive headlines at the moment with the recent hotly anticipated rollout of exchange traded funds linked to ether, the world’s second largest cryptocurrency, turning into a damp squib in the US with only modest investor interest
   
• The trial of Sam Bankman-Fried, the former crypto billionaire who co-founded the trading exchange FTX, is also another stick for the naysayers to bang the drum against all things crypto
   
• Nine ETFs holding ether futures contracts debuted on the same day last week, but volumes were a fraction of a previous ETF at just $6.6 million
   
• The ProShares ETF saw $1 billion of trading in its first two days of trades back in October 2021 which was near the peak of the digital bull market
   
• An ongoing weak retail sentiment amid a tough macro environment has seen an underwhelming launch of the ether ETF

Ether is still down over 60% since its top nearly two years ago,  despite rallying 10% the previous week ahead of the wave of launches.