Markets Report: Bitcoin price reclaims $9,500 on U.S. stimulus news as Ethereum hits 5-month high

Bitcoin retook $9,500 on July 23 as a fresh bullish move sent the largest cryptocurrency ever closer to five figures.

Data from price tickers including CoinMarketCap tracked BTC/USD as it completed 2.5% daily gains to hit local highs of $9,550.

That level marks Bitcoin’s highest since June 25, and contrasts with the cautious behavior which has characterized the market over the past few weeks.

At press time, $9,500 appeared to be holding, 10 hours since BTC departed from its previous focal point at $9,350.

Central bank “insurance policy” seals 1-month high

$9,500 has become a feature of interest in 2020, with price activity often focusing on the level as support. 

This time around, it appears that geopolitical factors were influential—more economic stimulus plans from the U.S., which implies money printing, were announced on Wednesday.

Bitcoin, designed as an antidote to inflation, is a logical beneficiary of such a policy, but its real correlation throughout the past several months of stimulus announcements has remained to stock markets.

Nonetheless, even before the $9,500 spurt, analysts were confident.

“#Bitcoin is most simply described as an insurance policy on global central banking; a contract that becomes more valuable as bank balance sheets swell,” Parallax Digital CEO Robert Breedlove summarized on Twitter this week, uploading a comparative chart of central banks’ balance sheets.

As Modern Consensus reported, just days ago the mood among traders was much less optimistic. 

Support levels above $9,000 were all but nonexistent, and consensus was forming around a pullback to at least $8,700. 

“Not long until a higher-high close on the trend,” popular trader Josh Rager accurately predicted in his latest social media update. 

“Next test would be $9,700, a close above there and I will move to bull bias[.] $10k is still the holding ground.”

Tough resistance remains north of $10,000, specifically at $10,500, something which Bitcoin has failed to crack throughout 2020.

Ethereum heads for $285 resistance

The turnaround has not just impacted Bitcoin. Ethereum, the largest altcoin, is in the middle of a transformation which has seen it break significant resistance at $250, going on to seal five-month highs of $262.

Helped by the flurry of activity around DeFi tokens, ETH/USD is primed for further upside, fellow trader filbfilb forecast on Wednesday.

“ETH also faceripping out of [support].  MM Target here should be pre corona Highs at resistance [$285 ish so still a bit to run, a [retest] of 250-55 would be nice if it presents itself,” he told Telegram channel subscribers.

Filbfilb added that, for both Bitcoin and Ethereum, volume was still lacking, a crucial element to sustain bullish trajectory.

“…Looks good [but] volume still not there for Bitcoin just yet.. Would like to see the [order book volume] rip higher to confirm it for me,” he wrote.