BTC price lurches toward $16K as stocks, dollar wobble in final session

Bitcoin (BTC) teased more volatility at the Dec. 30 Wall Street open with BTC/USD heading ever closer to $16,000.

BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView

Will new year deliver “long-awaited volatility?”

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD wicking down to lows of $16,337 on Bitstamp.

The pair had been gradually upping the volatility in the days after Christmas, as analysts eyed the likelihood of a final burst of action before the yearly close.

โ€œLast trading day of the year for TradFi, but crypto will trade through the holiday weekend. Perhaps we may see some of that long awaited BTC volatility around the Weekly/Monthly close and the start of 2023,โ€ on-chain analysis resource Material Indicators ventured.

Popular trader and analyst Rekt Capital notedย that โ€œhistorically, a strong indicator of where the $BTC bottom is is when the bearish BTC Candle 2 performs its Yearly Close.”

Rekt Capital was discussing Bitcoinโ€™s four-year halving cycles, with the year after the halving traditionally one of overall losses.

The worst could be in by the end of the week, he thus argued, โ€œand whatever downside wicking occurs in the following Candle 3 is just a bonus for bargain buyers.โ€

BTC/USD annotated chart. Source: Rekt Capital/ Twitter

On lower timeframes, the picture remained unclear, with BTC/USD stuck in a narrow range still $1,000 above its multi-year lows from Q4.

Order book data from Binance uploaded by Material Indicators showed a lack of tangible support between spot price and $16,000, with resistance stacked at $17,000 and higher.

BTC/USD order book data (Binance). Source: Material Indicators/ Twitter

As Cointelegraph reported, predictions for Q1, 2023 range from a recovery above $20,000 to a fresh shock for bulls in the form of a trip below $10,000.

Risk assets could see “some reprieve”

On macro, United States equities opened to modest losses, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index both down nearly 1% at the time of writing.

Related:ย Bitcoin ‘not undervalued yet’ says research as BTC price drifts nearer $16K

The U.S. dollar also looked unable to book fresh gains in time for the end of the year, with the U.S. dollar index (DXY) continuing a downtrend to circling six-month lows.

โ€œKeep an eye on the U.S. Dollar Index DXY here! A breakdown could increase momentum for bullish market dynamics,โ€ a hopeful Caleb Franzen, founder of Cubic Analytics, told Twitter followers on Dec. 29.

โ€œThe Fed is still tightening, with balance sheet reductions likely to become a significant factor in 2023. Still, risk assets might have some reprieve soon.โ€

U.S. dollar index (DXY) 1-day candle chart. Source: TradingView

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