Bitcoin Slides as Bitcoin Cash Hard Fork Looms

Bitcoin gained 2.49% on Sunday, following Saturday’s 0.84% rise, to end the weekend at $8,682.6, recording a 10.1% loss for the week, Monday through Sunday.

An early morning fall to an intraday low $8,318.3 saw Bitcoin cold above the day’s first major support level at $8,247.83, with buying appetite building through Sunday morning to support a Bitcoin run through the 23.6% FIB Retracement Level of $8,628 and the day’s first major resistance level at $8,675.13 to an intraday high $8,760 before easing back the day’s end $8,682.6.

Holding above the day’s first major resistance level of $8,675.13 and the 23.6% FIB Retracement Level of $8,628, was a positive for the Bitcoin bulls, though for Bitcoin to reverse the near-term bearish trend formed at 5^th May’s swing hi $9,999, a move back through the 38.2% FIB Retracement Level of $8,890 to $9,000 levels would be needed.

Until there is greater clarity on the regulatory road ahead, Bitcoin and the broader market is unlikely to see any material upside that could spur the talk of a return to the record highs of last year, with regulator classification of the respective cryptocurrencies expected to have a material impact on the broader market.

While the broader market faces the wrath of South Korean regulators, Bitcoin investors are about to discover whether tomorrow’s Bitcoin Cash hard fork will eat into Bitcoin’s cryptomarket dominance.

With Bitcoin Cash already being considered a better contender to replace fiat money, the hard fork enhancements, which are due to introduce capabilities such as smart contracts, while also improving transaction times to less than 3 minutes, will give Bitcoin a run for its money. The market response may be muted near-term, however, regulatory risk continuing to be of far greater influence to investor appetite near-term.

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At the time of writing, Bitcoin was down 3.61% to $8,370 as the crypto news wires weighed on investor appetite at the start of the week.

An early move through to a morning high $8,701 fell short of the day’s first major resistance level at $8,855.63, with negative sentiment across the broader market ultimately leading to a Bitcoin pullback to a morning low $8,271, Bitcoin sliding through the day’s first major support level at $8,413.93 with ease as selling pressure weighed at the 23.6% FIB Retracement Level of $8,628.

For the day ahead, a move back through to $8,700 to test the day’s first major resistance level at $8,855.63 would need a shift in sentiment to ease selling pressure at the 23.6% FIB Retracement Level of $8,628, which may be too big an ask as investors return focus to the regulatory outlook that continues to remain bearish for the cryptomarket.

Failure to move through to $8,600 levels will likely lead to a pullback through the morning’s $8,271 low to bring the day’s second major support level at $8,145.27 into play, which would leave investors facing the possibility of Bitcoin visiting sub-$8,000 levels for the first time since 19^th April.

This morning’s moves continue to affirm the near-term bearish trend, though as we have seen on countless occasions, even the risk of a material shift in the regulatory landscape is often not enough to leave investors on the sidelines for long, the summer and the expected rollout global regulations still some way off.

Elsewhere in the market, Bitcoin Cash continued to lose ground ahead of this week’s fork, down 7.98%, with DASH coming in close behind, down 6.42% for the morning.

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