Bitcoin Tests $8.8K as Coronavirus Makes Stocks ‘Bargain Basement’

Bitcoin (BTC) was fighting to keep support at a key level on Feb. 27 as markets worldwide continued to suffer from fears over coronavirus.

Cryptocurrency market daily overview. Source: Coin360

The make-or-break moment for BTC bulls

Data from Coin360 and Cointelegraph markets showed BTC/USD fluctuating around its 200-day moving average (200 DMA) just below $8,800.

As Cointelegraph reported on Wednesday, the 200 DMA is seen by analysts as an important factor in determining the health of Bitcoin’s bull market.

Should support give way, Cointelegraph Markets analyst filbfilb warned, the impact for traders could be “significant.”

At press time, volatility remained considerable, with BTC/USD dropping as low as $8,570 on the day, down from $9,200 24 hours previously.

Bitcoin 1-day price chart. Source: Coin360

Attention continued to focus on Bitcoin’s relationship to coronavirus — having risen as its spread accelerated, the cryptocurrency later began showing signs that it could ultimately suffer from further panic.

“It does appear that particularly newsworthy (and tragic) days related to this subject do seem to have some correlation with price of #crypto projects,” analytics service Santiment commented on Twitter earlier in the week.

Analysts added that the correlation “does not appear to be a positive one.”

“Buy the dip opportunities everywhere”

For fellow Cointelegraph Markets analyst Michaël van de Poppe, however, Bitcoin was going cheap.

“Hovering above the 200 MA here, which is an essential moving average to hold + the next support level after $9,400. Total market capitalization also on a key support level for S/R flip + 200 MA,” he told Twitter followers in a fresh update on Thursday.

“Buy the dip opportunities everywhere.”

Filbfilb meanwhile added that both stocks and Bitcoin had become a “bargain basement” thanks to coronavirus. He was now long BTC, he told subscribers of his Telegram trading channel.

Altcoins rein in losses

Altcoin markets continued their fall after poor performance on Wednesday but managed to avoid a repeat of the double-digit losses.

Ether (ETH), the largest altcoin by market cap, fell 3.5% to trade at $228.

Ether 7-day price chart. Source: Coin360

Others lost up to 7%, while a handful of altcoins reversed their downtrend altogether. Tezos (XTZ) and Chainlink (LINK) were up 4.3% and 5.9% on the day respectively.

The overall cryptocurrency market cap was $251.1 billion, with Bitcoin’s share at 64%.