BTC price down 8% from all-time high – 5 things to know in Bitcoin this week

Bitcoin (BTC) starts the new week as a strong comeback – and shot to all-time highs – and continues to hold its shape.

Fresh off a 12% weekly gain, BTC's price strength shows little sign of abating as it nears final resistance.

Beyond that, back to price discovery – will the bulls finally get their wish after four months of consolidation?

According to analysts, how Bitcoin will perform in the future depends on many factors. A combination of institutional interest, sell-side pressure, geopolitical curves and inflation all contribute to crypto market volatility.

On the higher time frames, the picture is optimistic: after the all-time highs in March, BTC/USD is still testing the old ones as support.

However, day-to-day movements can easily boost sentiment, especially around critical resistance zones where price has just been found.

Behind the scenes, meanwhile, Bitcoin miners are preparing to exit the capital level, which typically results in higher BTC prices.

Cointelegraph takes a closer look at the current landscape for Bitcoin in what has already been a month.

New all-time highs return to BTC price targets

After what one analyst called an “explosive move” last week, Bitcoin enjoyed a recent weekly close above $68,000.

This comes on the heels of news that US President Joe Biden will not seek re-election in November.

Despite volatility in both directions, data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView show that BTC/USD has hit $68,486, the highest level since June 12 and only 7.75% off its all-time high.

“Looking pretty good for the bulls so far,” summarized trader Skew in X's latest market update.

Calling the weekly close “very important,” Skew said $65,000 must remain as support at least on higher timeframes if the bulls are to maintain control.

“Otherwise, if there is a clear market chase at the auction early in the week, $70k-$80k will be the target for liquidation (ask the liquidator),” he continued.

The analysis also touched on the Relative Strength Index (RSI) signals, which gave a clear early warning of an uptrend.

Looking at the Fibonacci extension levels, his friend Dan CryptoTrades made a similar prediction about BTC price targets.

“So far so good,” he commented with Chart.

“We are still in the big guard, but if we start to break higher, the green boxes should be visible to me.”

US PCE due to consolidation of markets due to Biden withdrawal

Biden's announcement, after some quick volatility, gave Bitcoin bulls fresh fuel to rally as markets firmed up their bets on a Republican election win.

The party's presidential candidate, Donald Trump, has included the Bitcoin proposal in his election policy. As Cointelegraph reports, Trump's assassination attempt earlier this month triggered the first wave of BTC price hikes.

Now, the focus is once again turning to economic issues as key US inflation data prepares to be released.

This comes from the publication of the Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) index, known as the Federal Reserve's “preferred” measure of inflation.

This is on July 26th and comes a day after the Q2 GDP and implied unemployment figures, making for a volatile end to the week for risk assets and crypto.

Commenting on the deal, Marketing said Kobe's letter said “all eyes” are now on PCE.

“The July Fed meeting is just 10 days away and a week away,” one X wrote in part, referring to the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting where Fed officials will decide on any adjustments to benchmark interest rates.

The latest estimates from CME Group's FedWatch Tool reflect market expectations that there will be no rate change until the next FOMC meeting in September.

“Additional inflation will help lock in expectations for further rate cuts from the Fed's September meeting,” trading firm Mosaic Property added in its latest newsletter, “The Market Mosaic,” on July 21.

Bitcoin miners are ready to withdraw “capital”.

For Bitcoin miners, the tough times that started after the April block subsidy event may be over.

The latest data from the Hash Ribbon indicator, tracked by on-chain analytics firm Glassnode, compares two iterations of Bitcoin's hashrate, teasing a multi-month “capital” period recovery.

Such periods occur when the near-term hashrate is relatively low and the 30-day moving average falls below its 60-day counterpart, as shown by the hash ribbon.

In Bitcoin's history, such levels were common even in bull markets – but it was BTC's price recovery that caught the attention of traders.

According to Cointelegraph, the last capitalization ended in August 2023, after which BTC/USD nearly doubled by the end of the year to $25,000 from a short period of time.

The miner's hashrate hit its highest level since early June last week, surpassing 690 exahashes per second (EH/s), according to Glassnode data.

“Coinbase premium” returns for Ether ETF week

This week marks another seminal moment for the crypto industry's institutional adoption journey – but this time the focus is on the big altcoin Ether (ETH).

Six months after US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) went live, Ethereum ETFs are about to launch.

The implications of ETH's price action are unknown, but traders are likely to favor the volatility experienced in BTC/USD at the beginning of the year.

“Multiple ETFs will go live in the coming days – allowing hedge funds and pensioners to easily buy ETH. ETFs Have Driven Bitcoin Big – Will It Do the Same for ETH? Noted businessman Jelle asked in part in X's post on the topic.

Despite the ETF narrative, ETH/USD remains relatively healthy, up 4% compared to Bitcoin's 7% last week.

Bitcoin ETFs entering the space remain in the spotlight after a week of record gains — even as US stock markets bounce back.

Daan Crypto Trades demonstrated this success with the so-called “Coinbase premium” – the difference in BTC prices on the largest American exchange Coinbase.

“Coinbase Premium is back to premium. This is generally healthy as it shows interest from US investors (and ETFs),” he concluded.

Bitcoin Bears “Quiet”

Calls for a BTC price split have disappeared from social media this month, as evidence suggests that Bitcoin bears have lost their grip on the market narrative.

Related: Bitcoin price advance to $68K paves way for SOL, ICP, GRT and BONK

The social volumes of words like “sell” or “depressed” are decreasing, according to research firm Sentiment. Bulls, on the other hand, are afraid of “‘getting it wrong'” in price action.

In a July 22 opinion piece, X said, “After Bitcoin and crypto had a spectacular rebound over the past 2 weeks, the crowd has been quiet.

“When BTC reaches $70k again, the rumors of an impending bear market in early July have died down.”

Crypto market sentiment was stuck in “greed” territory as the week began, with the classic sentiment gauge, the Crypto Fear and Greed Index, measuring 70/100.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and business activity involves risk, and readers should do their own research when making a decision.