BTC price cools on latest US data as Bitcoin liquidates $80M in shorts
Bitcoin (BTC) was trending towards $24,000 as Wall Street opened on Feb. 16 after fresh macroeconomic data out of the United States topped estimates.
Hot US PPI data “shakes” the markets
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed that BTC/USD recovered some of its recent gains on the day, trading around $24,400 on Bitstamp at the time of writing.
The pair had hit $24,895 on Bitstamp overnight, marking its highest level in six months, when a surprise rally appeared to catch many traders off guard.
In the two days ended Feb. 16, short positions of $80 million on Bitcoin alone were liquidated, with an addition of $65 million on Feb. 15 — the most in a single day since Jan. 20.
The US Producer Price Index (PPI) for January nonetheless dampened some of the excitement surrounding risky assets as it showed prices rose more-than-expected year-on-year.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index were both down 1.1% at the time of writing.
“Some Signs of Economic Slowdown in Today’s Macros,” investment research resource Game of Trades wrote in part of a Twitter reaction that also noted jobless claims were below the 200,000 expected claims for the week.
In lockstep with falling stocks, the US Dollar Index (DXY) showed renewed strength, climbing above 104.1 to its highest level since the first week of the year.
“It’s still going perfectly as expected, but so far we’re seeing a D1 downtrend break and reversal, eyes on the D1 200 EMA in the 104.5-104.7 range as discussed in the last few weeks,” wrote popular trader Pierre in one To update at events.
What’s in a death cross
Bitcoin, meanwhile, faced its own key moving averages in the form of the 50-week and 200-week trend lines that had just printed theirs very first “Death Cross” in a warning to cops.
Related: Why Did Bitcoin Price Rise Today?
However, for Cointelegraph contributor Michaël van de Poppe, there was reason not to pay too much attention to the phenomenon after the 2022 bear market.
“The death cross is only happening based on historical price events,” he said told Twitter followers on February 15th.
“The entire bear market of the past year, this is finally coming into this cross.
Fellow trader Crypto Tony summed up sentiment among more conservative market participants.
In an update following recent local highs, he argued that much depended on Bitcoin’s behavior around $25,000.
“My main target for this 5th wave is $25,000 as that is also the previous untapped swing high,” he explained alongside a chart.
“From here we will have a better understanding of whether we are indeed in a shallow bearish correction or if this is the start of something more exciting.”
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed herein are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.