Bitcoin saw fresh volatility on November 12 as $16,000 came back into play but bulls saw familiar trouble with support.
Data from price trackers including CoinMarketCap showed BTC/USD rising to pass $16,000 for the first time since 2017 on Thursday. The moment had been long coming, but highs of $16,180 swiftly met major resistance.
At press time, the pair traded in the region of $15,900 after a pullback which bottomed at $15,600, but volatility continued.
BTC price hits “incredible” level
“$16,000 hit. Incredible,” trader Michaël van de Poppe summarized. He simultaneously noted warning signs from sentiment indicator the Crypto Fear & Greed Index, which warned that the market was overdue for a correction.
On Thursday, Fear & Greed remained firmly in the “extreme greed” zone, with a score of 87/100.
“Just a reminder for all the resistance longers,” Van de Poppe summarized in accompanying comments.
Fellow trader Josh Rager meanwhile called the likely rejection near $16,200 the previous day.
“Big breakout for higher-highs on both low time frames and the daily chart. Bitcoin is getting close to some weekly levels near $16,200 which could get rejected,” he wrote in his latest Twitter update.
“Close above here on the daily and price likely heads to $17k+ with momentum.”
Attention thus focused on the upcoming daily close for Bitcoin as it tussled with yet another psychological barrier on the way towards all-time highs of $20,000 from December 2017.
Markets shrug off Dalio ban fears
The latest gains accompanied a curious bearish signal from the world of traditional finance, as billionaire investor Ray Dalio reiterated claims that should Bitcoin rise too much, governments will make it illegal.
“Would I prefer bitcoin to gold? No,” Dalio said, positioning himself firmly at odds with the week’s other investment heavyweight, Stanley Druckenmiller.
Responding, pro-Bitcoin investors instantly dismissed Dalio’s argument, which has been made by various naysayers over the years.
“…The gold ban in the 30’s meant that gold moved from the US to Switzerland etc. Gold continued to trade globally as normal,” Real Vision CEO Raoul Pal wrote.
“Capital [controls] anywhere have never worked and gold has always worked. Bitcoin will be the same.”
Despite recent price gains becoming notable for the lack of associated publicity, governments began to show signs that they were still keen to suppress economic activity originating outside of their direct control this week.
In Russia, lawmakers revealed that they intended to jail those who perform and do not declare Bitcoin transactions worth more than 45 million rubles ($585,000) within a three-year period.
Conversely, certain jurisdictions, notably Wyoming in the US, are taking steps to enshrine Bitcoin acceptance and routes to adoption in law.
“If you’re not holding Bitcoin because you think it will get banned, you’re in for a rough ride,” Moon Capital, the popular Twitter account which produced a lengthy response to Dalio, concluded.
