The BTC price action has been choppy over the last 24 hours, as it dipped as low as $21,800 overnight before regaining some ground above $23K. However, the bulls struggled to surmount the strong $23.5 resistance, and BTCUSD is currently trading down 0.2% at its current price of $23,382.
BTCUSD Chart By TradingView
The ongoing sideways trading that has resulted in multiple movements in both directions has done little to provide insight into Bitcoin’s near-term outlook.
The leading cryptocurrency faces multiple hurdles before forming a new leg higher, especially with the bears putting up some intense resistance in the lower-$24K zone.
In fact, the bulls’ failure to reclaim the $24,200 highs seen this past weekend has convinced one trader that BTC has formed a medium-term high.
Despite Bitcoin’s weak performance over the past few sessions, the asset is still outperforming most altcoins, which have seemingly taken a hit after some bearish favoring news emerged today.
Many of Bitcoin’s rivals, especially XRP and BCH, have been plunging since the US SEC confirmed it would finally pursue legal action against Ripple regarding XRP.
Whale Selling Pressure on Bitcoin is Growing
The recent BTC rally to fresh all-time highs was quickly cut short by whales and other large investors who quickly sold their holdings, pushing the price down below $22K before the selloff reversed.
And now, one prominent analyst is pointing to a grave indicator that suggests BTC will stagnate for a while before any further upsides.
The CEO of on-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant Kim Young Ju shared a tweet explaining that whale inflows into exchanges have spiked higher, suggesting that these big-wealth investors are taking profits off the table.
However, Ju remains optimistic that even though the growing selling pressure will temporarily halt BTC’s uptrend, the substantial organic buying pressure prevailing in the market could be enough to absorb it.
“I am aware of the dumping risk as whales are active on exchanges, but I’m not short on BTC since the buying power is so strong now,” the CEO explained while sharing the chart below.
Increased Whale Activity in BTC exchanges by Kim Young Yu | Source CryptoQuant
ETH Price Loses Ground Against Bitcoin
ETH dipped as low as $600 in what has been a turbulent couple of hours for the entire crypto market. While BTC has managed to recover most of its losses since the slip below $22K, Ether is still struggling after bears erased the gains that came about during the last rally.
According to one analyst, the top altcoin’s next move will depend largely on whether buyers can prevent it from spiking below the “solid buy” zone near $611.
