Bitcoin Price Shuns Volatility as Analysts Warn of Potential Drop to $7,000

Bitcoin (BTC) price saw a rare spell of stability on July 22 as cryptocurrency markets began the week on a broadly stable note. 

Market visualization. Source: Coin360

Bitcoin price weekly chart settled but overbought

Data from Coin360 showed hardly any change for BTC/USD in the past 24 hours, bucking a volatile trend seen throughout recent weeks.

At press time, Bitcoin circled $10,600, down just 0.14% while trading in the middle of a $400 daily corridor. 

Bitcoin 7-day price chart. Courtesy of Coin360

By comparison, last week saw BTC/USD trade as high as $11,060 and as low as $9,125. The motivation, analysts mostly agreed, was regulatory uncertainty as the United States Congress met several times to debate the impact of both cryptocurrency and Facebook’s Libra digital currency.

As Cointelegraph reported, opinions ranged from highly supportive to entirely dismissive, building on mixed messages previously given by Treasury Secretary, Stephen Mnuchin, as well as president Donald Trump himself. 

Forecasting what could happen this week, commentators appeared unconvinced the current calmer conditions would prevail.

Josh Rager, the investor and trader who gives regular Bitcoin price updates on social media, described Bitcoin’s weekly close as neutral, but noted signs volatility would soon return. 

Gold trader Florian Grummes delivered a similar conclusion in analysis published Monday, arguing the likely future for BTC/USD was either an extended period of sideways correction or a sharp drop closer to $7,000.

“The weekly chart is without question overbought and actually needs to cool down. Yet above $6,000 and especially above $9,000 the bulls remain in control,” he summarized.

Sideways action for altcoins

Altcoin markets meanwhile returned to their previous behavioral pattern as the week ended, mimicking Bitcoin’s lack of action while reporting slightly larger moves.

Ether (ETH), the largest altcoin by market cap, shifted just 0.65% to hit $225, firmly above its recent lows which saw ETH/USD fall to support at $200. 

Ether 7-day price chart. Courtesy of Coin360

Some altcoins delivered modest gains, including Binance Coin (BNB) and EOS (EOS), which achieved 1.4% and 1.7%, respectively. Litecoin (LTC) moved up 0.45%. 

One of the weakest performers in the top twenty cryptocurrencies was Bitcoin SV (BSV), which shed 4.15% Monday. 

The total cryptocurrency market cap currently stands at $290.3 billion, of which Bitcoin accounts for 65.2%.