Bitcoin had a surprisingly underwhelming price performance over the past week despite the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approving the trading of spot BTC ETFs. The price of the flagship cryptocurrency almost broke into $49,000 at the peak of this positive news but has since retraced back below $43,000.
Ali Martinez, a popular crypto analyst on the X platform, has offered insight into the current market climate of Bitcoin, highlighting that the cryptocurrency’s price may face further downward pressure over the coming weeks.
Analyst Forecasts 20% Price Drop For BTC
In a recent post on X, the crypto pundit shared an update on his analysis of the Bitcoin’s price chart on the three-day timeframe. On January 4, Martinez initially identified an ascending parallel channel, which seems to be governing the Bitcoin price action since September 2023.
In price analysis, an ascending parallel channel is a technical analysis pattern that features two parallel upward-sloping trend lines. While it is mostly a bullish chart pattern, the ascending parallel channel can signal a short-term bearish move or even a trend reversal.
Martinez noted in his post that the current setup appears to be holding true after the Bitcoin price faced rejection from the parallel channel’s upper boundary at $48,000. Following this price correction, the analyst has predicted $34,000 at the channel’s lower boundary as the natural next stop for the premier cryptocurrency.
A downward move to $34,000 would represent a significant 20% decline from Bitcoin’s current price point. However, according to Martinez’s analysis, it might not be looking all gloomy for the world’s largest cryptocurrency.
On the bright side, the analyst expects a quick recovery for the Bitcoin price after the downward spiral to $34,000. Martinez said that the pioneer crypto could make a rebound back to the upper boundary at $57,000.
Bitcoin Price Overview
As of press time, the Bitcoin price stands at $42,909, reflecting a negligible 0.6% decline in the past 24 hours. The premier cryptocurrency has struggled to hold above $43,000 since experiencing a massive downturn to below $42,000 on Friday.
Meanwhile, BTC’s profits since the turn of the year have been cut back to a mere 1.6%, putting the bullish future of the coin into question. Bitcoin is down by nearly 3% on the weekly timeframe, according to data from CoinGecko.
Nevertheless, BTC maintains its position as the largest asset in the cryptocurrency sector, with a market capitalization of roughly $841 billion.
Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView
