Bitcoin Technical Analysis: BTC/USD Stalls Under $9,300, Volatility Expected As Bitcoin Futures Expire

• Bitcoin price fails to sustain gains above $9,300; seeks balance above $9,200 during the Asian session.
• Bitcoin futures contracts worth over $1 billion to halt trading on Friday across major exchanges.

Bitcoin price reclaimed its position above $9,000 following a minor and brief dip into the $8,000’s range on Thursday. The recovery pulled Bitcoin above $9,300 but momentum seems to have fizzled out leaving Bitcoin in the hands of the bears again. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $9,266 with the trend bullish and volatility expanding.

Bitcoin Futures Contracts Expire

Bitcoin’s longer-term options are expected to expire on Friday across major exchanges such Deribit and BitMEX. The value of the contracts has already hit $1 billion according to the blockchain analysis platform Skew. Futures contacts allow traders to either short or long the underlying asset without actually purchasing the asset.

The longs bet that the price will increase over a long period of time while the shorts bet that the price will decrease. As the contracts expire, the traders try to pin the spot rate in their favor in order to reduce the exposure to losses, and this is the reason for the volatility.

Bitcoin Technical Analysis

Bitcoin price is currently supported at $9,200 in addition to ascending trendline support. Marginally above the prevailing market value, the price is dealing with more selling pressure at $9,300, the 50 SMA at $9,386.93, 200 at $9,447.23.

BTC/USD 4-hour chart

Technical indicators such as the RSI show that buyers are gradually gaining traction against the sellers. The RSI is pointing northwards following a bounce from the overbought region. The action above the midline and towards the overbought region would be a signal for buyers to increase their positions as the bullish grip becomes stronger. For Bitcoin, trading above $9,400 would pave the way for gains past $9,600.

Bitcoin Key Intraday Levels

Spot rate: $9,235

Relative change: -9.47%

Percentage change: -12%

Trend: Bullish

Volatility: Expanding