Bitcoin boom or bust: BTC is looking strong, but is a FALL coming? – ANALYSIS

The crossover from April into May has been on a steady incline, with bitcoin walking uphill into the weekend and looking at $5,800 on the map ahead. Given the ups and downs of recent weeks, it seems almost odd to see an amplification of trading volume and rises which appear to be moving against the tide of market sentiment. This is bullish behaviour in what, to most intents and purposes, is still very much a bear market. Which is a sign to approach this latest cycle with a degree of caution. Having conquered the peak of $5,350 several times in April, BTC is clearly desperate to tackle the next summit in its vision – $5,900.

It has not made an assault on this mountain for some time.

Indeed, you have to look back to the autumn of 2018 to see the last time it reached for the oxygen to climb above $6,000.

It is staged one or two expeditions of late, but was beaten back down to the sub $5,200 basecamp each time.

However, something about the current momentum and sentiment feels a little different this time around.

There is certainly more of a swagger in the upward challenges.

The red candles are shorter, and recovering green candles seem to possess an urgency that has been lacking throughout most of 2019.

You could forgive the many analysts who are keen to shout “breakout!” right now, but there must be a cautionary whisper of “fakeout” on this breeze of optimism.

A bear market – which most believe we are still in the grip of – has a habit of creating traps and hazards in a bid to cause maximum damage. That is what it is designed to do.

If this is indeed the breakout so many fans of cryptocurrency have been hoping for, then so be it (there is a case for it – April ended with a 25 percent increase in trading).

Those of us with more vigilant views can be proven wrong, no harm done.

But if this is building into something more sinister, then this gently soaring market is about to hit the angle of attack that would result in a very sudden loss of lift as it spirals into a stall.

Either way, the activity over the weekend looks like it might play a very key role in whatever outcome is waiting around the corner.

Unlike traditional markets, crypto does not clock off.

It is a 24/7, seven-days-a-week operation, and weekend activity has its place – particularly when the charts are poised for just about anything.

We’ve seen, over several months, BTC and its nearest rival Ethereum rise across Friday, Saturday and Sunday before flopping in an exhausted heap on Monday, down a good $200 as it undoes all its hard work.

This time around, it is worth noting how much the bitcoin price was chopping as it approached the start of the weekend.

There is a definite sign of a stutter in momentum.

It remains to be seen whether or not that stutter can be corrected on Saturday and Sunday.

If it can, it may yet propel BTC towards its clear goal of $5,900 and beyond before we clear away the dishes of Bank Holiday Monday.

If it cannot, this has all the hallmarks of a sudden and steep slump that will set the agenda of crypto for many months to come.

source: express.co.uk