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Bitcoin (BTC) delivered long-anticipated volatility on Sep. 27 as a squeeze higher resulted in a push beyond $20,000.

BTC price 9-day highs greet traders

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView followed BTC/USD as it added over 7% after the Sep. 26 close.

Local highs of $20,344 appeared on Bitstamp before the pair began consolidating at around $20,200.

The move naturally did not go unnoticed by in trading circles, but opinions differed over the outcome, amid warnings that the whole episode may end up trapping overoptimistic traders taking late long positions.

“No [rejection] yet, but soon. Expecting higher for now,” popular Twitter account Il Capo of Crypto summarized, sticking by a theory which demanded new lower lows than the sub-$19,000 levels seen over the past week.

Michael J. Burry, the financial wizard who was portrayed in the movie "The Big Short", is known for predicting crises. For instance, his investment fund made billions from the 2008 housing crash, and Burry liquidated almost all his entire portfolio during the 2Q of 2022.

Given that no one seems to know whether traditional markets will bounce before entering a further recessive environment, it might be a good time to consider investing in cryptocurrencies. Below are some examples on how experienced investors sometimes miss incredible rallies.

In May 2017, Burry said people should expect a "global financial meltdown" and World War 3. Instead, the S&P 500 rallied 20% over the following 9 months. A couple of years later, the index peaked in December 2021, at a level that was more than 100% above Burry’s suggested short entry price.

In December 2020, Burry said that Tesla's stock price was "ridiculous" as part of his justification for opening his short position. A 47% rally happened in the 35 days following that remark and Tesla shares peaked 10 months later after a 105% total gain from Tesla’s supposedly "ridiculous" price.

Indicators point to a major recession, but exactly when remains unknown

Without mistake, traders should not dismiss the fact that the U.S. dollar index has rallied strongly against other major global currencies to reach its highest level in 20 years. This shows that investors are desperately seeking shelter in cash positions, exiting stock markets, foreign currencies and corporate debt.

On Sept. 26, the British pound hit a record low against the U.S. dollar following the announcement of tax cuts and further debt increases to curb the impact of a possible economic recession. The volatility simply reflects investors' doubts about the government's capacity to withstand the growing costs of living across the region.

The U.S. dollar has been the clear winner as investors seek shelter in the largest global economy, but the British pound's weakness could be a net positive for Bitcoin. The GBP, or British pound, is the world's oldest currency still in use and it has been in continuous use since its inception.

Fiat currencies are a 52-year old experiment

The British pound, as we currently know, started its journey in 1971 after its convertibility with gold or theequivalent was effectively terminated. Since then, the currency issued by the Bank of England has not had a fixed valuation.

Inflation has been the centerpiece of economic debates all throughout 2022 after central banks added liquidity to the markets over the previous two years to stimulate economies. As a result, in August 2022, the United Kingdom saw a 9.9% increase in consumer prices versus the previous year.

On Sept. 22, the government announced an unprecedented tax cut, the highest since 1972, causing the British pound to reach an intraday low of $1.038 versus the U.S. dollar on Sept. 26. Analysts concluded that government bond issuance would increase to pay for the lesser tax, and interest rates would have to be aggressively increased.

Bitcoin (BTC) volatility edged higher during Sept. 26 as the Wall Street open avoided significant losses.

Monthly close tipped to shake up BTC price

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD circling $19,000 on the day, with hourly candles of 1.5%–2% not uncommon.

The pair was expected to break out of its narrow trading range in the short term, having consolidated since Sept. 22.

For Michaël van de Poppe, founder and CEO of trading firm Eight, a tap of the area at the top of the range should signal acontinuation higher.

“Theory still stands for Bitcoin,” he told Twitter followers on the day.

Cardano's (ADA) long-awaited Vasil update went live on Sept. 22, which promises to make its blockchain more scalable and cheaper than before. However, this has failed to bring bullish momentum to the ADA market.

Sell-the-news hampers Cardano

ADA's price has dropped by approximately 9.5% since the update and was changing hands for $0.43 on Sept. 26. The ADA/USD pair's drop was accompanied by a rejection candlestick on its daily price chart, confirmed by a brief rally to $0.48 on the day of the fork and a sharp correction thereafter.

ADA bulls' muted reaction to the successful Vasil update is similar to what transpired across the Ether (ETH) market after Ethereum's Merge.

In other words, a buy the rumor, sell the news event, resembling most of Cardano's previous hard forks, which have a history of preceding ADA price crashes, as shown below.

In addition, macro risks led by a very hawkish Federal Reserve also weighed down ADA's bullish expectations post-Vasil.

The market capitalization of USD Coin (USDC), a stablecoin issued by U.S.-based payment tech firm Circle, has dropped below $50 billion for the first time since January 2022.

On the weekly chart, USDC's market cap, which reflects the number of U.S. dollar-backed tokens in circulation, fell to $49.39 billion on Sept. 26, down almost 12% from its record high of $55.88 billion, established merely three months ago. 

In contrast, the market cap of Tether (USDT), which risked losing its top stablecoin position to USDC in May, crossed above $68 billion on Sept. 26, albeit still down 17.4% from its record high of $82.33 billion in May 2022.

The divergence between USDT and USDC shows investors' renewed preference for the former. Let's take a look at the factors boosting Tether as the top stablecoin.

Binance's USDC suspension

Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume, announced earlier in September that it would convert its users' USDC balances for its own stablecoin, Binance USD (BUSD). The conversion will commence on Sept. 29 and does not apply to USDT.

Bitcoin (BTC) starts a new week staring down a wild macro environment after sealing its lowest weekly close in nearly two years.

As risk assets across the global economy take a hammering and the United States dollar surges, the largest cryptocurrency is on a limp footing.

September, having started out on the bulls’ side, is now living up to its informal crypto market nickname, “Septembear,” and BTC/USD is currently down 6.2% since the start of the month.

The bad news keeps coming for hodlers, who are clinging to dormant coins in increasing numbers as the dollar runs rampant and mainstream appetite to diversify into riskier plays continues to evaporate.

With macro set to remain the key focus for everyone this week, Cointelegraph takes a look at what might lie in store for BTC price action.