Predictable but unsettling chaos hits crypto markets as U.S. inflation data sparks a rout to $18,200 for BTC.
Bitcoin (BTC) delivered classic volatility on Oct. 13 as United States economic data shook markets.
Trader sticks by $21,000 target
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView followed BTC/USD as it presented some textbook moves to accompany the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) print for September.
Coming in at 0.1% above expectations year-on-year, the September figures immediately made themselves felt, with risk assets selling off and the dollar advancing in the face of ongoing inflation pressures.
In line with previous CPI events, Bitcoin saw a fakeout to the upside, which vanished in minutes, leading to protracted downside which only bottomed at $18,183 on Bitstamp.
A rebound took the largest cryptocurrency to $18,800, having seen its lowest since Sep. 22.
Traders both long and short felt the burn, with combined 24-hour liquidations totaling $57 million according to data from Coinglass.
“THE BOTTOM isn’t in,” analytics resource Material Indicators summarized alongside order book data from Binance.
The accompanying chart showed support at $18,000 massing on BTC/USD, providing at least a temporary support level.
Despite being down 4% on the day, Bitcoin was nonetheless in line for a bear market bounce, popular trader Il Capo of Crypto insisted.
Continuing an existing theory, a Twitter post on the day called for a rally to $21,000 before the real macro bottom emerged, this tipped to be between $14,000 and $16,000.
“I didn’t expect this move to go this low. In fact I expected the bounce to come earlier,” Il Capo of Crypto wrote about the post-CPI dip.
“With this being said, SPX is pumping and DXY dumping. $BTC still at support. This could be a massive bear trap. Bounce to 21k is still in play.”
Dollar dives after initial gains
The CPI event did not appear to dent stock market confidence, meanwhile, with U.S. indexes rising on the Wall Street open.
Related: Bitcoin eyes ‘textbook’ bottom as $16K whale cost basis comes into play
At the time of writing, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index were up 0.3% and 0.6%, respectively.
The U.S. dollar index (DXY), having gained earlier on the day, saw a dramatic retracement to target 112.5 points, helping alleviate pressure on highly-correlated crypto markets.
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