BTC Fear & Greed Index Signals a Bearish Wednesday Session

Key Insights:

• On Tuesday, bitcoin (BTC) rallied by 2.90% to end the day at $16,924.
• Visa and Binance news and a NASDAQ Index rebound supported the bullish session.
• The Fear & Greed Index fell from 29/100 to 26/100 despite BTC revisiting $17,000.

On Tuesday, bitcoin (BTC) rallied by 2.90%. Reversing a 1.84% fall from Wednesday, BTC ended the day at $16,924. Notably, BTC revisited $17,000 for the first time in four sessions.

A mixed start to the day saw BTC slip to an early morning low of $16,413. However, steering clear of the First Major Support Level (S1) at $16,197, BTC rallied to a mid-afternoon high of $17,066. BTC broke through the First Major Resistance Level (R1) at $16,761 to end the day at $16,924.

Binance and Visa News Delivers a Bullish BTC Session

News of Binance.US agreeing to acquire Voyager Digital for $1.022 billion delivered crypto market support.

According to the press release,

“The Binance.US bid aims to return crypto to customers in kind, in accordance with court-approved disbursements and platform capabilities.”

Significantly, the announcement eased investor jitters about a Binance (BNB) liquidity crunch, reflected in a bullish binance coin (BNB) session.

Investors also responded to Visa (V) announcing plans to support Ethereum (ETH) auto-payments.

From the US, there were no economic indicators to influence investor sentiment. However, the NASDAQ Index delivered support through the afternoon session. Recovering from a Bank of Japan-induced sell-off, the NASDAQ Index ended Tuesday with a 0.01% gain.

Today, US consumer confidence figures will draw interest. Better-than-expected numbers should support the NASDAQ Index and the broader crypto market. However, investors will also need to monitor FOMC member chatter. Hawkish commentary would weigh on riskier assets.

The Fear & Greed Index Slides to 26/100 Despite a Bullish BTC Session

Today, the BTC Fear & Greed Index fell from 29/100 to 26/100, despite BTC revisiting $17,000. Crypto news failed to drive a further pickup in investor sentiment, with regulatory risk, the Fed, and fears of a recession lingering crypto market headwinds.

However, despite the pullback, the Index avoided a return to the Extreme Fear zone.

Avoiding sub-20/100 remains the key near-term. The bulls will need to target the pre-FTX collapse November 6 high of 40/100 to support a BTC run at $20,000.

Bitcoin (BTC) Price Action

At the time of writing, BTC was down 0.21% to $16,888. A range-bound start to the day saw BTC rise to an early high of $16,934 before falling to a low of $16,873.

Technical Indicators

BTC needs to avoid the $16,801 pivot to target the First Major Resistance Level (R1) at $17,189. A BTC move through the Tuesday high of $17,066 would signal a bullish session. However, the NASDAQ Index will need to support a breakout session.

In the event of an extended rally, BTC would test the Second Major Resistance Level (R2) at $17,454 before any pullback. The Third Major Resistance Level (R3) sits at $18,107.

A fall through the pivot would bring the First Major Support Level (S1) at $16,536 into play. Barring a risk-off-fueled sell-off, BTC should avoid sub-$16,000. The Second Major Support Level (S2) at $16,148 should limit the downside. The Third Major Support Level (S3) sits at $15,495.

An adverse crypto market event would bring sub-$16,000 into play.

Looking at the EMAs and the 4-hourly candlestick chart (below), it was a bearish signal. This morning, BTC sat below the 50-day EMA, currently at $16,960. After Sunday’s bearish cross, the 50-day EMA eased back from the 100-day EMA, with the 100-day EMA falling back from the 200-day EMA, delivering bearish signals.

A move through the 50-day ($16,960) and 100-day ($17,018) EMAs would support a breakout from R1 ($17,189) to target R2 ($17,454). However, failure to move through the 50-day EMA ($16,960) would leave sub-$16,500 in play.