Bitcoin

Resistance

April

Spot

<p>After a tumultuous 2022 tarnished by the collapse of industry giant FTX, Bitcoin 2023 has been a rollercoaster recovery, yet, with Bitcoin (BTC) now stood atop a +160% gain year-to-date, lets take a deep-dive into how BTC price got here.</p>  
<h2 id="january-rally-slowing-inflation-triggered-desperate-bitcoin-recovery">January Rally: Slowing Inflation Triggered Desperate Bitcoin Recovery</h2> 
<p><br> The middle of January saw Bitcoin spring back into life after a seismic collapse before Christmas triggered a major downtick that saw BTC price drop as low as $15,499.</p> 
<p>Macroeconomic factors appeared to be the main driving force in January’s recovery, with traders shifting to bullish posturing after indications of a slow-down in US inflation from the Fed bolstered markets worldwide.</p> 
<p>While macro-hopes of a rate cut failed to materialize, the shift in market sentiment was enough to trigger a major upside across 2023 – with <a href="https://cryptonews.com/news/crypto-assets-under-management-surge-367-january-as-markets-recover-but-grayscale-situation-remains-delicate.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">crypto assets under management exploding +36.7% throughout the month</a>.</p> 
<h2 id="february-s-dramatic-mid-month-drop-us-regulators-spook-crypto-markets">February’s Dramatic Mid-Month Drop: US Regulators Spook Crypto Markets</h2> 
<p><br> Despite the strong bounce in January 2023, subsequent price action saw a major -22.4% drop in Bitcoin price mid-month.</p> 
<p>The move was triggered by increased rhetorical attacks and regulatory moves against the crypto industry by American regulators.</p> 
<p>Notably, the Gary Gensler’s SEC mounted worrying regulatory crackdowns against Kraken Exchange and stablecoin issuer Paxos – in a <a href="https://cryptonews.com/news/new-york-regulator-launches-investigation-into-stablecoin-issuer-paxos-binance-busd-trouble.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">move that sent shockwaves through markets</a>.</p> 
<p>However, bullish sentiment in Asia, <a href="https://cryptonews.com/news/more-than-80-firms-express-interest-establishing-presence-hong-kong-next-crypto-hub.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">notably in Hong Kong</a> reassured global markets – fuelling a recovery from these dramatic drops.</p> 
<h2 id="april-s-bitcoin-resistance-rejection-how-30k-formed-a-key-price-level">April’s Bitcoin Resistance Rejection: How $30K Formed a Key Price Level</h2> 
<p><br> As Bitcoin price pushed up following Gensler’s regulatory crackdown, the leading cryptocurrency mounted a solid recovery.</p> 
<p>This saw BTC price hammer-up for a vital test of topside resistance at $30,000.</p> 
<p>However, a resounding market rejection at these price levels triggered another tumble, which saw Bitcoin <a href="https://cryptonews.com/news/bitcoin-price-prediction-as-btc-falls-29000-support-what-happens-next-1.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">price drop -17%</a>, yet, price was still able to recover to end the month in the green.</p> 
<h2 id="may-s-first-monthly-bitcoin-price-drop-of-2023-8-mom-performance-dominates-charts">May’s First Monthly Bitcoin Price Drop of 2023: -8% MoM Performance Dominates Charts&nbsp;</h2> 
<p><br> Despite a bullish start to 2023, May saw Bitcoin’s first month-on-month drop of 2023, with price ultimately left trading at a -8% loss across the month.</p> 
<p>A duality of factors came together to trigger this negative price action, which saw crypto markets retreat from a market cap emboldened by breakout Chinese and AI narratives.</p> 
<p>Driving factors for the <a href="https://cryptonews.com/news/bitcoin-price-prediction-btc-drops-by-almost-250-key-insights-for-today.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">May BTC price drop</a> include diminishing liquidity in crypto markets (fuelled by sell-offs under $27,500) and a market reaction to monetary tightening moves by the US Fed.</p> 
<h2 id="june-s-major-short-squeeze-triggered-breakout-bitcoin-price-rally">June’s Major Short-Squeeze Triggered Breakout Bitcoin Price Rally&nbsp;</h2> 
<p><br> With May’s performance lacking, June once again saw Bitcoin 2023 resume a rallying posture as price surged 28% over the following weeks.</p> 
<p>This appears to have been triggered by a major short-squeeze, mounted against over-leveraged open interest that piled into the chart around $24,800.</p> 
<p>Traders positioned to short a further drop were left reeling from <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2023/06/20/bitcoins-rally-to-28k-causes-the-largest-short-squeeze-this-month/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$36.6m in short liquidations</a>.</p> 
<h2 id="july-resistance-triggers-major-drop-as-30k-resistance-continues-to-dominate-charts">July Resistance Triggers Major Drop As $30K Resistance Continues to Dominate Charts</h2> 
<p><br> Following June’s aggressive short-squeeze, Bitcoin price hammered-up high into the trading channel in July in a move that saw Bitcoin price attempt to breakout above $30k.</p> 
<p>Peaking at $31,842 on July 15, near immediate market rejection saw Bitcoin enter a major <a href="https://cryptonews.com/news/bitcoin-course-end-july-red-more-anguish-for-btc-august.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">downside tumble – with BTC price losing -8.8% across the month –</a> ending back below $30k resistance at $29,080 (in the red).</p> 
<p>Critically in July, Bitcoin began to become insulated from macro-economic factors.</p> 
<h2 id="max-pain-in-august-2023-why-did-bitcoin-price-drop-so-dramatically">Max Pain in August 2023: Why Did Bitcoin Price Drop So Dramatically?</h2> 
<p><br> August saw Bitcoin 2023 end the month at the lowest level since July, in a major downside move – which was fuelled by dramatic -$2,000 losses in price on August 17-18.</p> 
<p>While Bitcoin was not alone in August downside, as TradFi markets also hit a slump, the serious volatility witnessed by the top cryptocurrency appears to have been pushed by the release of damning CME data.</p> 
<p>The Bitcoin price drop came just days after the U.S. Commodity and Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) Commitment of Traders (COT) report showed leveraged funds (hedge funds and commodity trading) – ramped up bearish bets in the CME-listed cash-settled bitcoin futures <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2023/08/17/first-mover-americas-bitcoin-drops-to-lowest-level-since-june/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in the week ended Aug. 8</a>.</p> 
<p>This was <a href="https://cryptonews.com/news/coinbase-secures-approval-launch-bitcoin-ether-futures-trading-for-us-customers.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">timed with CoinBase launching Bitcoin Futures trading for US customers</a>.</p> 
<h2 id="september-s-bitcoin-bounce-back-btc-finds-feet-above-25-000">September’s Bitcoin Bounce-Back: BTC Finds Feet Above $25,000</h2> 
<p><br> As traders returned to their desks after a volatile summer, Bitcoin found feet after a resounding test of lower support at $25,000 on September 11.</p> 
<p>The downtick to test $25,000 was triggered by anticipation that FTX crypto assets would be imminently dumped onto the market, however, these fears failed to materialise.</p> 
<p>Yet, <a href="https://cryptonews.com/news/bitcoin-price-prediction-market-cap-plummets-gensler-expresses-concerns-luno-restricts-uk-investments.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">touching lower support at $25,000</a> triggered a bounce within the trading channel, that fuelled price on an impressive +12.1% push to touch resistance from the 200DMA around $28,000 on September 30.</p> 
<p>This came in spite of overhead comments and concerns from the SEC.</p> 
<h2 id="october-saw-bitcoin-spot-etf-fever-take-hold-in-btc-markets">October Saw Bitcoin Spot ETF Fever Take Hold In BTC Markets</h2> 
<p><br> Following the substantial recovery in September, Bitcoin price went on to mount a +27% surge month-on-month that critically saw Bitcoin hammer above $30,000 in a titanic +14.5% daily price move on October 23.</p> 
<p>This can be explained by the onset of Bitcoin Spot ETF fever, as traders began to panic and FOMO into the leading cryptocurrency following a <a href="https://cryptonews.com/news/us-federal-court-forces-sec-reconsider-grayscale-bitcoin-etf-conversion-after-rejecting-sec-argument.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Court decision which over-ruled the SEC’s previous move</a> to reject GBTC’s conversion into a Bitcoin Spot ETF.</p> 
<h2 id="december-sets-stage-for-major-bitcoin-bullrun-in-2024">December Sets Stage for Major Bitcoin Bullrun in 2024&nbsp;</h2> 
<p><br> After three-solid quarters (Q1-Q3) of price stabilization, Winter’s breakout rally hit rocket volatility with the onset of December.</p> 
<p>The first week of December saw Bitcoin price explode a whopping +18.35%, leaving BTC price trading high at $44,694 a week later – Bitcoin 2023’s high.</p> 
<p>With Bitcoin now sat atop +160% YTD gains, markets appear poised in preparation for a highly-anticipated final decision on Bitcoin Spot ETF applications, and the upcoming Bitcoin halving event – <a href="https://buybitcoinworldwide.com/halving/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">estimated for April 16, 2023</a>.</p> 
<p><i>Disclaimer: Crypto is a high-risk asset class. This article is provided for informational purposes and does not constitute investment advice. You could lose all of your capital.</i></p>

Bitcoin’s 2023 Rollercoaster: The Most Prominent BTC Price Peaks and Troughs This Year

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