Bitcoin (BTC) stayed under $43,000 at the Jan. 31 Wall Street open as risk assets dipped into a key United States economic policy update.
BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: TradingView
FOMC nerves quash crypto performance
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC price action sticking to a range around $1,000 lower versus the previous day’s local high.
Markets were wary in the hours leading up to the Federal Reserve decision on benchmark interest rate changes, this coming in tandem with a speech and press conference from Chair Jerome Powell.
The latter is apt to spark risk-asset volatility, and as Cointelegraph reported, commentators were already primed for snap moves both up and down.
“Open Interest grinding up while we have FOMC later today,” popular trader Daan Crypto Trades noted on X (formerly Twitter), referring to the meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee.
“Often means that people will get chopped up and as always we tend to see a decently sized wick towards both sides around the event.”BTC/USDT order book data summary. Source: Daan Crypto Trades/X
Daan Crypto Trades added that the 200-period simple and exponential moving averages, or SMA and EMA, were the near-term resistance lines to overcome.
#Bitcoin I’m still seeing this as a bigger 40.2-44.5K range.
Currently trying to hold on to the 4H 200MA/EMA which acted as resistance last week. pic.twitter.com/a0SzK2LaY0
— Daan Crypto Trades (@DaanCrypto) January 31, 2024
Popular trader and analyst Rekt Capital, meanwhile, also spied a rangebound construction in place on longer timeframes, predicting that BTC/USD would remain within it “for the foreseeable future.”
#BTC
Bitcoin has indeed formed that Lower High
Still going to be range-bound for the foreseeable future$BTC #Crypto #Bitcoin https://t.co/f5KYbfK089 pic.twitter.com/C0x98wcL3n
— Rekt Capital (@rektcapital) January 31, 2024
“I’m not getting overly excited here,” trader and crypto educator Nebraskan Gooner continued in part of his own X coverage of the daily chart.
“My expectations are low and I’m feeling neutral at these levels. Might just get some chop.” ..
