What many thought would never happen did on Thursday. Just days after Tether Limited, the company behind the USDT stablecoin, minted $300 million worth of its crypto asset, reports revealed that its operator, iFinex, may be on thin ice. As a result of this news, Bitcoin (BTC) dropped by 10% within minutes, plunging from $5,550 on Coinbase to $4,950 in a rapid sell-off.
But since this news broke, cryptocurrencies across the board have recovered, as some have begun to suspect that this debacle may not have a material effect on this market’s staying power.
Bitcoin Holds Strong After Tether ‘FUD’
Per analysis from The Crypto Monk, a well-followed trader, the dust from this recent imbroglio has settled, and Bitcoin’s chart structure still is “looking good for bulls.” Monk didn’t give much reasoning for this point, but the chart attached to his message did depict that BTC has held above $4.800, a key level of support as it’s where the 200-day moving average is sitting.
Not is the chart’s structure looking good, but trading statistics and technical indicators too. As Murad Mahmudov, a popular analyst who is 75% sure the cryptocurrency bottom is in, postulated, the long-short position ratio on Bitfinex and Relative Strength Index (RSI) leadings has led him to believe a move higher is inbound. A specific forecast was not mentioned, but Mahmudov did draw an arrow ending at $6,300, which is where Bitcoin is expected to meet major resistance at a level of historical importance.
Of course, others are not too sure that Bitcoin’s chart looks decidedly bullish. According to a chart from trader Financial Survivalism, this move confirms that Bitcoin’s current market structure is like that seen in December’s downturn, but inversed. Thus, if history is followed, BTC may be poised to see a $1,000 pullback, potentially to the $4,200 range.
But it may not be that simple. As a number of analysts, like Crypto Birb and Satoshi Flipper, have asserted, for Bitcoin to move higher from here, it will need to break convincingly past $5,200 on BitMEX and head to $5,300 for a “liquidity flip-test.” As of the time of writing this, said “liquidity flip-test” has yet to occur. With positive industry developments, like TD Ameritrade’s and E*Trade’s purported plans to offer spot Bitcoin trading, however, some are sure that BTC will recover to its pre-crash levels in no time.