Hassan Maishera
The cryptocurrency market has been underperforming over the last 24 hours. After an excellent start to the week, the broader crypto market has retraced in the last two days.
The total cryptocurrency market cap stands at $925 billion at press time, down by less than 1% in the last 24 hours.
Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market cap, has also been underperforming over the past few hours. After a rally that saw it reach the $19,600 mark earlier this week, the bulls have lost steam which has resulted in Bitcoin dropping toward the $19,200 region.
With the bears looking to take control of the market, Bitcoin could drop below the $19k level for the first time in more than a week if that happens.
Ether, BNB, Cardano, Solana, and some of the other leading cryptocurrencies have also been underperforming.
Bitcoin technical analysis
The BTC/USD 4-hour chart is bearish as Bitcoin has been underperforming over the last 24 hours. The technical indicators show that Bitcoin’s performance will most likely not improve in the next few hours as the bears look to gain more control of the market.
BTC/USD 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView
The MACD line is below the neutral zone, indicating that the bears are currently in control of the Bitcoin market. The 14-day relative strength index of 46 shows that Bitcoin could enter the oversold region if the negative momentum doesn’t improve.
At press time, BTC is trading at $19,194 per coin. If the bearish trend thickens, Bitcoin could drop below the first major support level at $18,905 before the end of the day. That would be the first time Bitcoin will drop below $19k since the first week of October.
In the event of an extended bearish run, Bitcoin could drop toward the $18,453 support level for the first time in a month.
However, the bulls might have a say in how things turn out in the near term. A bullish momentum could push BTC past the first major resistance level at $19,846. Unless there is an extended bullish run over the weekend, the second major resistance level at $20,535 should cap further upward movement in the near term.
