Pixabay

Bearish view

• Sell the BTC/USD pair and set a take-profit at 17,000.
• Add a stop-loss at 20,000.
• Timeline: 1-2 days.

Bullish view

• Set a buy-stop at 19,500 and a take-profit at 21,000.
• Add a stop-loss at 18,000.

The BTC/USD price plunged below 20,000 as the cryptocurrency industry came under renewed pressure. Bitcoin crashed below 19,000, which was the lowest level in more than two weeks. It has crashed by over 12% from its highest point this month.

FTX liquidity crisis

Cryptocurrency prices crashed hard as investors focused on the challenges facing FTX, one of the biggest exchanges in the world. The company came under significant pressure this week after revelations of its relationship with Alameda Research emerged.

In a report, CoinDesk said that Alameda Research’s balance sheet was mostly made up of FTT. FTT is the native token for FTX and is a highly illiquid cryptocurrency. As a result, Binance decided to sell its remaining FTT holdings.

As the crisis continued, concerns about FTX’s liquidity emerged, pushing many traders and investors to sell their holdings. According to WSJ, there were over $1 billion in outflows compared to less than $400 million in inflows.

The collapse of FTX is one of the biggest stories in the industry. In 2021, FTX raised funds at a valuation of over $30 billion. And most recently, the company was seen as the JP Morgan of the cryptocurrency industry. For example, it signed a deal to rescue Voyager Digital, an exchange that collapsed in May.

Therefore, the BTC/USD price declined as many crypto holders liquidated their holdings as contagion risks rose. These fears are real since Alameda Research is one of the biggest investors in other cryptocurrencies like Near Protocol and Solana.

It also declined as investors became extremely fearful about the crypto industry. Bitcoin’s fear and greed index plunged to the extreme fear level of 20. Therefore, the upcoming US inflation data will have no major impact on Bitcoin. Instead, traders will be focusing on how FTX unwinds.

BTC/USD forecast

The BTC/USD price has been in a slow recovery lately. This rebound saw it rise to a high of 21,409 last week. All these gains became undone as the FTX crisis widened. On the daily chart, the pair managed to move below all moving averages while the Stochastic Oscillator moved to the oversold level.

Therefore, the outlook of the BTC/USD pair is still bearish as risks rise. If this happens, the pair could drop to about 17,000 in the near term. Still, the coin will experience significant volatility as challenges mount.

More By This Author: