The last time Bitcoin traded above $45,000 was on 18 May
Bitcoin’s price soared above the $40,000 and $43,000 levels over the weekend. The benchmark cryptocurrency reached highs of $45,364 on US crypto exchange Coinbase, with CoinGecko aggregating the market price at weekly highs of $45,157.58. The spike meant Bitcoin traded at its highest level since 18 May.
Although BTC/USD has corrected by 2.9% over the past 24 hours to drop to $43,556, it appears bulls are in control and a fresh breakout above the immediate resistance level around $44,972 could see bulls target new multi-month highs.
The upside to above $45,000 came as bulls shook off the negative sentiment linked to controversial last-minute amendments to a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill targeting over $28 billion from cryptocurrency taxation. A report that the White House favoured one of the amendments seen to target Proof of Stake coins heightened sell-off talk.
But the Senate failed to reach a compromise on the proposals and on Sunday, talks stalled.
Sunday night infrastructure bill update:
The Senate has voted 68-29 to end debate. We wanted a vote on the Wyden amendment first, or on a Wyden-Warner compromise, but no luck.
The Senate has to wait until Tuesday to do a final vote. They might still amend the bill before then. https://t.co/VFrmnZqOPQ
— Jake Chervinsky (@jchervinsky) August 9, 2021
Bitcoin bullish
There has not been a crypto sell-off in relation to the developments and Bitcoin’s price outlook suggests fresh gains are likely. According to on-chain market analysis platform Glassnode, hodlers continue to accumulate amid reduced downward pressure in a move that suggests the current relief rally is different from that witnessed in 2018.
Data from Santiment also supports a bullish continuation for Bitcoin, with an uptick in daily active addresses signaling a potential upside resumption.
🥳 #Bitcoin‘s revisit to $45k for the first time since mid-May is certainly something to celebrate. However, watch daily address activity closely now, as a subsequent rise back to the 1M+ per day levels will be key in signifying a #bullish resumption. 👀https://t.co/CX8ULJTFKA pic.twitter.com/yhOg8fFKX1
— Santiment (@santimentfeed) August 8, 2021
The technical outlook for BTC/USD on the daily chart suggests bulls face stiff resistance at $44,972. This is where we have the 200 SMA, above which we could see prices rally to the $50,000 level on increased buying.Â
BTC/USD daily chart. Source: TradingView
If the price gets rejected at the 200 SMA, a downturn to $42,204 could follow. This could open up a path for bears to retest $40,000 and then the 50 SMA at $35,543.