Bitcoin traders torn between breakout and $28K dip as BTC price stalls

Bitcoin (BTC) lingered below $31,000 at the July 3 Wall Street open, with bulls still in need of a catalyst.

Bitcoin price: Sink or swim at $30,000

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD acting in a tight range following the weekly close.

BTC’s price performance remained firmly sideways into the new week, punctuated only by modest attempts at attacking the $31,000 mark.

More optimistic market participants hoped that nearby resistance levels — and not only for Bitcoin — would soon fall.

“The more frequently a resistance line is tested, the weaker it becomes,” trading team Stockmoney Lizards argued.

“The day will come when ALL $31k sell orders have been filled.”

An accompanying chart uploaded to Twitter compared BTC price action this year with its pre-bull market behavior in 2016, in the run-up to previous all-time highs in December 2017.

Continuing, popular trader and analyst Rekt Capital suggested that the overall crypto market capitalization was also poised for a breakout.

Total #Crypto Market Cap is really trying to press beyond this black resistance and break out into uptrend continuation

Doing so and the entire Crypto Market Cap could see gains of +10% to up to +23% over time #BTC #Crypto #Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/X2qpgfhZO3

— Rekt Capital (@rektcapital) July 3, 2023

Others eyed downside potential in the face of stubborn resistance. Among them, trader Crypto Tony repeated calls for a trip to $28,000.

“This really is as simple as it gets for Bitcoin this week,” he told Twitter followers on the day.

“We are against the $31,000 resistance zone, so unless we take it out i expect us to draw down to $28,000 for a reload option from the bears. Much prefer if we just pump though this week.”

As Cointelegraph reported, consensus was also building around BTC/USD soon topping out, possibly in the mid-$30,000 range, after a final leg higher.

A 2021 repeat in the making?

Meanwhile, the June monthly close had produced a significant move for Bitcoin on monthly timeframes.

Related: Miners send millions to exchanges — 5 things to know in Bitcoin this week

As noted by technical analyst Michael Nauss, BTC/USD, for the first time since the 2021 all-time highs, had closed above an adjusted volume-weighted average price (AVWAP).

AVWAP looks at important support and resistance levels based on trader behavior, and the close above $30,000 marked a resurgence not seen in two years.

First monthly close over the AVWAP from all-time highs in $BTCUSD #Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/AYBMCJvLpL

— Michael Nauss, CMT, CAIA (@MichaelNaussCMT) June 30, 2023

Retweeting Nauss, Caleb Franzen, CEO of Cubic Analytics, called on market observers to lengthen their time preference.

“When the BlackRock ETF application was announced, the price of Bitcoin was roughly $26k and it rose to new YTD highs above $31k,” part of commentary stated last week, referencing ongoing attempts to launch the first Bitcoin spot price exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States.

“We’re still trading above $30k and people are losing their minds? Couldn’t be me. Higher highs and higher lows.”

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This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.