Bitcoin (BTC) surfed $27,000 on May 16 as traders stayed buoyant about upside continuation.

imageBTC/USD 1-hour candle chart on Bitstamp. Source: TradingView

$24,000 BTC price still in play, says trader

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD still focusing on the $27,000 mark, having dipped to $26,870 after the daily close.

Still lacking direction, traders hoped the pair would either attempt to exit its narrow range or touch more significant levels up or down.

For popular trader Crypto Ed, potential targets included the “gap” in CME futures created at the weekend.

“It’s really on the lower timeframe where the action is now; higher timeframe is not really exciting,” he summarized in his latest YouTube update on the day.

The CME gap to the downside lies between $26,500 and $26,800, just below the overnight lows.

imageCME Bitcoin futures 1-hour candle chart. Source: TradingView

Crypto Ed continued to say that a bounce after the gap could take BTC/USD back to its range highs at $28,800 but that a downside “possibility” left $24,000 in play.

Other market participants were equally cautious, with trader Jackis describing Bitcoin as “very hard to read” under current circumstances.

“My personal take is we will have Weekly continuation and Daily breakdown,” he concluded in Twitter analysis on the day.

To that end, the chances of higher levels to come on weekly timeframes remained despite the current pullback.

“Important to note, that the weekly structure remains bullish & that whether from here or should any deeper pullback come is a potential HL in a bullish trend which should lead to a break of 31K until proven otherwise,” Jackis explained.

Analyst warns over debt ceiling volatility

Elsewhere, macro considerations increasingly began to include the unfolding debt ceiling crisis in the United States.

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With the June 1 deadline for potential default rapidly approaching, markets were already feeling the pressure, trader Skew suggested.

“Lack luster price action primarily due to US debt ceiling becoming a probable crisis, however getting closer to the June 1 deadline,” he tweeted about the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY).

“Implications will be what big funds are eyeballing into late may (raised or suspended). Expect heightened volatility & waning liquidity in coming weeks, especially around the deadline period.”

The DXY, traditionally but not exclusively inversely correlated with BTC price performance, continued to trend lower on the day after a week of snap gains.

U.S. Dollar Index 1-hour candle chart. Source: TradingView

As Cointelegraph reported, the main macro event of the week comes in the form of public commentary by Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell on May 19.

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This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.