Bitcoin (BTC) rose in volatility through the weekly close on March 13 as markets braced for geopolitical and macroeconomic signals.
Long-awaited Fed action set to arrive this week
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView followed BTC/USD as it came close to testing the $38,000 support again on Sunday.
The pair had enjoyed a quiet weekend on Wall Street, with the weekend proving equally quiet as the status quo inside and outside the crypto continued unsurprisingly.
Now, attention was already focused beyond Sunday’s close, particularly on the upcoming US Federal Reserve interest rate decision.
Expected on March 16, the magnitude of the assumed rate hike could lead to temporary volatility and even a longer-lasting trend change for risky assets, depending on their size.
The situation between Russia and Ukraine also remained in focus, amid weak signs that a consensus among negotiators could arrive sooner rather than later.
To monitor resource material indicators, the Bitcoin chart showed the spot price between the 50-week and 100-week moving average (WMA), prior to the Fed’s decision.
“BTC price continues to range between 50 and 100 WMA”, abstract to Twitter followers the same day.
“Typical volatility is expected around the weekly close. The market is scared of Putin and the impending Fed funds rate announcement. Both are catalysts for the results the charts are pointing to.”
Meanwhile, popular Crypto trader and analyst Ed describe the weekend’s action was “sluggish” amid an absence of meaningful support or new resistance tests, while fellow analyst Matthew Hyland likened Bitcoin’s behavior to “watching the paint dry.”
For stocks, however, it was a welcome rest after another week of steep declines.
Global equities lost another $2.5 billion in capitalization this week as investors positioned themselves around developments in #Ukraine, #stagflation fears, a warmongering inclination of #ECB, and ahead of next week’s FOMC meeting. Global stocks are now worth $107.5 billion, or 127% of global GDP. pic.twitter.com/pFDynD1NS3
— Holger Zschaepitz (@Schuldensuehner) March 13, 2022
The Russian stock market remained closed throughout the week and was also expected to see no stock trading until at least March 18.
Major setback ‘cannot be ruled out’, analyst says
After calls for a more substantial BTC/USD retracement, however, guidance was coming in on a potential opportunity to “buy the dip”.
Related: Bitcoin threatens $38,000 as 3-day chart hints at repeat of March 2020 COVID-19 crash
Bitcoin’s 200WMA and logarithmic growth curve, at just over $20,000 and $30,000, respectively, could form potential macro support levels should such an event occur, according to trade suite Decentrader.
In his last market update Released on Friday, the cabinet argued that the scenario “cannot be dismissed”.
“Such a crash could send Bitcoin down the log growth chart, which continues to climb and is now above $30,000 for the first time. Beyond that is 200WMA, which is also and now climbing at $20,500,” it read.
Its position in the market would, however, become “medium-term bearish”.
