Bitcoin Retreats, but Its Gradual Uptrend Shows No Major Damage

Bitcoin remained under pressure Wednesday, but the decline has yet to break the broader stair-step pattern that has supported its advance since July.

BTC dropped to around $84,200, more than 2% below Tuesday’s level near $86,500, according to CoinDesk data. The move still left bitcoin within its two-week trading range of roughly $83,000 to $87,000.

“The October 7 decline does not invalidate Bitcoin’s stair-step rise,” Vikram Subburaj, CEO of Indian crypto exchange Giottus, told CoinDesk.

The bullish structure has been built through repeated consolidations at increasingly higher levels. Bitcoin has typically spent weeks moving sideways before making a sharp rally into a new range, creating a series of higher steps on the price chart.

BTC traded between about $62,000 and $67,000 from mid-July through Aug. 18 before gaining 21% over three days.

The next consolidation period stretched from late August to mid-September, when bitcoin traded between roughly $76,000 and $81,500. The cryptocurrency then added 6.6% between Sept. 19 and Sept. 21, establishing its latest higher range.

Bitcoin has traded between approximately $83,000 and $87,000 since then.

“After moving above $81,500, Bitcoin established a new range of roughly 83,000-87,000. If $83,000 holds, it would show that sellers cannot force the price back into its previous trading band,” Subburaj said.

That makes $83,000 an important level for the current setup. A decisive move below it would interrupt the stair-step advance, at least temporarily.

Subburaj said a sustained break below the $82,000-$83,000 area would indicate that the September breakout had failed and could put $80,000-$81,500 back in focus.

FxPro chief market analyst Alex Kuptsikevich considers $84,000 an earlier support level. A break beneath that area could open the way toward $80,000, he said.

BTC was trading around $84,300 at the time of writing.