Key Insights
- 2022 is now over. However, the world continues to wonder whether the effects of the 2022 bear market may spill over into the new year.
- Analyzing the chart shows that the Bitcoin market is currently neutral, and neither bull nor bear has made any significant moves against the other.
- The bears have a firmer grip on the market, but the bulls may have a fair fighting chance against them in January.
Where to for Bitcoin? In a way, it is safe to say that the 2022 crypto winter is over. This leaves the question of whether a new “2023 crypto winter” has only just begun.
We are now less than a week into 2023, and the Bitcoin speculation has come alive again.
2022 was undoubtedly one of the worst years for the price of Bitcoin. The cryptocurrency’s price action throughout the year was constantly hit with several micro and macro-economic factors that severely affected its price from January through December.
Some of these factors included ballooning inflation rates, incessant FED rate hikes, and the Russia-Ukraine war. Not to mention the Terra ecosystem crash in May and the $10 billion hole that swallowed the prices of several cryptocurrencies across the market when Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTXÂ went under in November 2022.
All these factors combined sent the price of Bitcoin plunging from highs above $60,000 to where it now sits, struggling around the $16,500 zone.
Where To For Bitcoin?
In early 2022, when the current crypto winter had not become as severe as it now is, many investors held high hopes of Bitcoin one day soaring above its $69,000 all-time high and hitting $100,000.
And as the cryptocurrency’s price continued to sink through the year, such hopes slowly fizzled out, especially after Bitcoin lost its footing around the $20,000 to $18,000 zones.
However, despite the cryptocurrency’s relatively weak footing and recovery from the prolonged bear market, hopes of a market reversal have come alive once again as investors and traders alike begin to wonder what 2023 might have in store for the flagship cryptocurrency.
In a way, Bitcoin’s performance through the first month of the year may set the tone for its performance and how well its investors expect it to perform over the remaining eleven months.
How high… or how low can Bitcoin go in January 2023? This is the question.
Will the flagship cryptocurrency decline and break through the $15,000 support to the bottom, or will it rise and break through the $17,400 resistance in a rally that takes it straight up to $20,000 and beyond?
Bitcoin (BTC) Price Analysis: Up Or Down?
Bitcoin is still consolidated between the $15,000 low it hit after the FTX crash in November and the $17,400 zone. According to data from CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin has not shown considerable feats of strength (or bearishness) in the first few days of the year.
According to the actionable signals page on CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin is currently bearish.
Based on Bitcoin’s current price movement, it is unclear how it might perform in January 2023. However, the upcoming 2024 halving may impact the cryptocurrency’s performance for this year.
On the daily chart, the price of the cryptocurrency is still in consolidation between $15,500 and $17,400, and neither the bulls nor bears have made a move to push the price action of the cryptocurrency up or down.
The RSI signal line on the daily chart is in the neutral zone but is slightly below the 50 mark. This shows that despite the lack of strength from either side, the bears have a firmer hand on the steering wheel.
This means the bears have a slightly better chance of pushing the cryptocurrency’s price into a retest of its post-FTX low of around $15,500. From this perspective, January doesn’t seem particularly bullish for the flagship cryptocurrency.
However, zooming in and looking at the 4-hour chart, an ascending trendline can be drawn on the cryptocurrency’s price action, decreasing the chances of a retest of the $15,500 zone.
This trendline has been active since late November last year and has held the price of the cryptocurrency up ever since.
If the trendline holds, Bitcoin will inch towards the $17,400 zone as the days go by and eventually test this resistance sometime between now and 10 January 2023. If a breakout from $17,400 happens, then the flagship cryptocurrency will have its first real chance at a rally to $20,000 since mid-December.
However, if the bulls fail to initiate a breakout from the $17,400 zone, the cryptocurrency will break through the ascending trendline to the bottom and may decline further down into a retest of $15,500.
Overall, there is no real way to predict where the flagship cryptocurrency may be headed for the year. However, while the bears have a firmer hand on the price action of Bitcoin, the bulls have the support of the ascending trendline and may have a fighting chance against the bears.
Disclaimer: Voice of crypto aims to deliver accurate and up-to-date information, but it will not be responsible for any missing facts or inaccurate information. Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile financial assets, so research and make your own financial decisions.
