Decentral Block Post

Bitcoin (BTC) has been trading above $31,000 after its 24.3% rally between June 15 and June 23, which caught many off guard. For bears, that meant facing $165 million in short futures contract liquidations, but the unexpected rally also brought some degree of discomfort for investors using Bitcoin derivatives.

Inflation remains the biggest question mark for traditional markets, a point highlighted by the recent 50-basis-point interest rate increase by the Bank of England, followed by similar moves in Norway and Switzerland, leading to the highest cost of capital in over a decade for the region.

In response to questions from lawmakers on the United States House Financial Services Committee on June 21, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said that “the process of getting inflation back down to 2% has a long way to go” and reiterated that “nearly all FOMC participants expect that it will be appropriate to raise interest rates somewhat further by the end of the year.”

According to JPMorgan strategists led by Marko Kolanovic, “the economy’s recent resilience may delay the onset of a recession,” so the impacts of the monetary tightening movement by the central bank are yet to be felt, “and ultimately a recession will likely be necessary to return inflation to target.”

Investors now question whether Bitcoin has the strength to trade above the $30,000 resistance amid the bearish pressure emerging from a potential economic recession and further central bank activity aimed at curbing the demand for capital.

A few months ago Pepecoin came and went, bringing quick, unimaginable riches to early investors and turning latecomers into reluctant bag holders.

While the chart resembles the standard crypto pump-and-dump scheme, Pepecoin’s (PEPE) price action this week suggests that the frog-themed token could be the newest contender to Dogecoin (DOGE) in the memecoin sector.

Dogecoin has dominated the memecoin space for years. Many copycats of dog-themed tokens, like Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Floki (FLOKI), have challenged DOGE’s position over the years but eventually faded.

SHIB briefly surpassed DOGE in market capitalization after rising 1,000% to a peak valuation of $41.1 billion on Oct. 28, 2021. At the time, Dogecoin’s market capitalization was $31.5 billion.

However, the near-vertical rally faded in the following weeks, and Dogecoin reclaimed its top spot in the memecoin category.

A few months ago Pepecoin came and went, bringing quick, unimaginable riches to early investors and turning latecomers into reluctant bag holders.

While the chart resembles the standard crypto pump-and-dump scheme, Pepecoin’s (PEPE) price action this week suggests that the frog-themed token could be the newest contender to Dogecoin (DOGE) in the memecoin sector.

Dogecoin has dominated the memecoin space for years. Many copycats of dog-themed tokens, like Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Floki (FLOKI), have challenged DOGE’s position over the years but eventually faded.

SHIB briefly surpassed DOGE in market capitalization after rising 1,000% to a peak valuation of $41.1 billion on Oct. 28, 2021. At the time, Dogecoin’s market capitalization was $31.5 billion.

However, the near-vertical rally faded in the following weeks, and Dogecoin reclaimed its top spot in the memecoin category.

The rush to apply for a spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) rejuvenated the bulls but this news is likely to boost the price only to a certain distance. As the price moves up, the risks of a crash increase if none of the ETF applications are approved. Trading firm QCP Capital is not convinced that a spot ETF will see the light of the day in the near term.

Another point of view came from Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss who said on June 21 that the “floodgates” for accumulating Bitcoin are “closing fast.” Similarly, MicroStrategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor said that the opportunity to “front-run institutional demand for Bitcoin” was ending.

Bitcoin remains the center of attraction as its market dominance has been hovering near 50%. K33 Research analysis found that over the long term, Bitcoin investment has far outperformed an altcoin portfolio by a huge margin. Altcoins had their share of short-term outperformance in 2017 and again in 2021 but that could not sustain in the long term.

Could Bitcoin and the altcoins rise above their respective overhead resistance levels? Let’s study the charts of the top-10 cryptocurrencies to find out.

Bitcoin price analysis

Bitcoin is facing resistance at the overhead resistance of $31,000 but the bulls have not ceded ground to the bears. This enhances the prospects of a break above $31,000.

Bitcoin (BTC) denied the market fresh volatility at the June 23 Wall Street open as traders attempted to guess its next targets.

Bitcoin lacks “strong confirmation” of new upside

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC price action continuing to hover around $30,000.

A second day of sideways trading thus greeted market participants as prior upside stalled close to the yearly high at $31,000.

Popular trader Daan Crypto Trades suggested that this area represented a popular invalidation point for those shorting BTC after its recent upside.

“Most of the shorts that entered during this consolidation will likely have their stops sitting above that local high at ~$30.8K,” part of a tweet read on the day.