At the start of the week, the bitcoin price briefly dipped to local lows around $41,500 before regaining some upside momentum. However, sellers have reemerged at more robust bullish attempts to push the coin back under pressure on Thursday. Yesterday, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization rallied to one-week highs in the $44,700 area to finish the day around $44,000. The prices have retreated to the $42,000 mark already, thus bringing the mentioned lows back into the market focus.

In general, the cryptocurrency market continues to cautiously monitor developments in geopolitics. In the traditional financial markets, stocks mostly struggle for direction, with sellers remaining in control even after reports that Russia had started pulling back its troops from the Ukraine border.

Photo by André François McKenzie on Unsplash

In this context, the downside pressure could intensify again as the US Envoy to the UN said earlier today that evidence on the ground suggests that Russia is moving towards an "imminent invasion" of Ukraine. As long as tensions on this front persist, both stocks and cryptocurrencies will likely stay on the defensive in the coming days or weeks.

On the downside, the immediate support arrives at $41,500, followed by the $40,000 psychological level last seen nearly two weeks ago. In a wider picture, however, bitcoin keeps recovering gradually from mid-2021 lows seen below the $33,000 mark in January. The prices have been trending north for the fourth week in a row already, and should buyers reemerge in the short term, the digital currency may retarget the $46,000 resistance, followed by the descending 100-DMA, currently at $47,600.