Led by Bitcoin, why is the crypto market up today?

• Crypto markets are in the green once again, thanks to factors like CME, U.S. economy and long-term holders.
• Bitcoin bulls are facing the stress of pulling prices back to the immediate support level of $68,000.

The global cryptocurrency market cap has seen an increase of 1.8% in the past twenty-four hours, coming up on what can be seen as a modest recovery from the start of the weekend. 

By this time yesterday, Bitcoin [BTC] was barely hanging onto $60,000. At press time, it was worth $63,111, up by 4% on the daily chart. But is there any special reason for this minute surge? And will it hold firm?

Why Bitcoin is up

Examining data from Coinglass, Bitcoin is the most liquidated asset over the past day. It has seen over $36 million gone, mostly from Binance [BNB].

Overall, the data suggests that traders are actively responding to price changes with corresponding changes in their market positions, indicating a market highly sensitive to both external influences and internal sentiment changes.

Source: Coinglass

Still. Bitcoin is in the green and going up. Looking at reasons for the abrupt resilience, Coinglass data also tells us that Bitcoin’s CME open interest has increased by over 3% in twenty-four hours.

Moreover, spot netflow has seen nearly $140 million over the same timeframe.

Source: Coinglass

Another reason why Bitcoin is holding firm is the U.S. economic data getting released on the 14th of May.

Going by the negative pattern Jerome Powell has established this year, interest rate decisions have proven to be bullish for Bitcoin, seeing as rate cuts aren’t coming anytime soon.

Meanwhile, experienced Bitcoin holders are echoing the 2021 bull market vibe, as suggested by some on-chain data.

Currently, long-term holders (LTHs) are increasing their BTC holdings after having sold off early this year.

The data suggests that, similar to mid-2021, these long-term holders are trying to acquire a larger share of the BTC supply.

They view the low Bitcoin prices as a chance to buy more coins at a bargain, to then sell them when market excitement picks up. 

A pattern can be traced from 2018 and 2021, showing a recurring cycle where long-term holders purchase during market lows and sell during highs.

Despite these cycles, there’s a noticeable, persistent trend where an increasingly majority portion of Bitcoin is being held by long-term holders.

Bitcoin’s current stand

AMBCrypto’s dissection of TradingView data for the BTC/USDt pair reveals a strong resistance level around the $68,000 mark, which BTC has tested multiple times over the past month without a sustained breakthrough. 

Conversely, a clear support level is evident near the $60,000 level, below which, if Bitcoin falls, further corrections to $55k and beyond could be witnessed.

The frequent and relatively large price swings within short periods (as seen from the candlestick sizes) highlight the ongoing volatility in the Bitcoin market.

This pattern suggests a trader’s market, where short-term gains can be captured based on swift movements.

Source: TradingView

Read Bitcoin’s [BTC] Price Prediction 2024-25

As of the latest data point, the price is experiencing another pullback towards the upward support level.

This could be indicative of another potential buying opportunity if the pattern holds as previous instances suggest. All in all, the bears are very much in control.