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Bitcoin (BTC) held a snap rebound on May 18 as analysts hoped that further upside would come next.

BTC price sustains knee-jerk move higher

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView followed BTC/USD as it circled $27,400 on Bitstamp.

The pair had made swift gains toward the prior day’s Wall Street open, these topping out at 3.5% versus the day’s lows.

Amid changing signals on exchange order books, popular trader Skew was hopeful for continuation.

“Price swept the pre-emptive swing low, which was enough liquidity to push up higher,” he summarized in part of a Twitter analysis.

Bitcoin (BTC) price lost steam after a failed rupture of the $27,500 resistance on May 15, putting bears in a better position for the May 19 expiry. The regulatory newsflow likely played a key role in trimming investors’ risk appetite as governments seek more control over the sector.

In a memo circulated among committee members, Democrats in the United States legislature sought to cement the SEC’s authority over crypto. The document was made public on May 10, including the argument that nearly all digital assets constitute securities. Moreover, according to Gensler’s view, even network nodes are in violation of securities laws.

The United Kingdom’s Treasury Committee “strongly recommended” on May 17 regulating retail crypto trading and investment activity as gambling, consistent with the principle of “same risk, same regulatory outcome.” Treasury Committee Chair Harriett Baldwin described Bitcoin and Ether as accounting for two-thirds of the total market capitalization of crypto assets, both of which she claimed are “unbacked.”

The $735 million Bitcoin weekly options expiry on May 19 might play a decisive role in determining whether the price will capitulate by falling below $26,000.

Bitcoin could be making a short-term bottom

Bitcoin bears will try to take advantage of the negative regulatory environment, and uncertainty caused by the risk of the U.S. Treasury ‘running out of funds’ as the debt ceiling approaches. Such a pessimistic scenario partially explains why some Bitcoin traders decided to reduce exposure over the past couple of weeks.

Bitcoin (BTC) is entering a new “speculation cycle” typical of a bull run, new analysis says.

In a tweet on May 16, Philip Swift, creator of data resource LookIntoBitcoin and co-founder of trading suite Decentrader, revealed history repeating itself according to the RHODL Ratio metric.

RHODL Ratiocreator on BTC price: "Zoom out"

RHODL Ratio is a method of tracking BTC price behavior based on the realized price of the supply — the price at which coins last moved.

Created by Swift in 2020, it compares the relative ages of coins which moved one week ago to those which moved 1-2 years ago.

This ratio gives an insight into the relative activity of short-term (STHs) and long-term holders (LTHs), and by extension the extent to which speculation is present on the market.

Bitcoin (BTC) looked poised to give up $27,000 as support on May 17, with traders waiting for new lows.

Whales meet low liquidity

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD trading near $26,800 at the time of writing.

The pair had staged multiple crosses of the $27,000 mark the day before, with that level forming a low-timeframe focus now at risk of breaking down.

“3 wave up into resistance, followed by a retest and a rejection off resistance zone,” popular trader Crypto Tony summarized about recent activity.

He added that a potential target to wait for was now $26,400.