- As Bitcoin price consolidated around aroujdn$28k, Ethereum whales have been recorded stashing more coins ahead of the Shanghai upgrade.
- Friday’s employment data from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics is expected to have a volatility impact on Bitcoin.
The Bitcoin market has consolidated for the past three weeks with possible double tops forming on the higher time frames. With increased uncertainty on Bitcoin’s prices, the altcoin market led by Ethereum, XRP, and Dogecoin (DOGE) has shown signs of rallying in the coming weeks. However, the deepest concern amongst most crypto traders is the thinning liquidity. As a result, crypto analysts forecast the volatility will remain high in the coming weeks.
Ethereum Price Action Amid Shanghai Upgrade
Ethereum’s Shanghai Upgrade is expected to clock in five days. As a result, volatility in the second-largest digital asset could spike especially after the recent breakout. Moreover, over 1.1 million Ethers, which were awarded to the validators for the past two years, will be made available for withdrawals on April 12. Additionally, analysts forecast the Kraken crypto exchange will unstake its Ethers as liquidate following the $30 million settlement with SEC seeking it to cease its Staking-as-a-Service program. The K33 researchers recently noted.
1.1m ETH related to partial reward withdrawals could face the market, while Celsius is likely to sell its 158k staked balance as part of its bankruptcy process. These two numbers represent nearly 1.3m ETH or approximately $2.4bn worth of potential sell-side pressure to face the market.
Nevertheless, on-chain data depicts whales have increased their appetite for Ethereum. According to market intelligence platform Santiment, the 10 largest exchange addresses are at their ATL in balance levels, whereas the 10 largest non-exchanges continue ascending.
Additionally, Lookonchain has identified several whales purchasing Ethereum from centralized exchanges including Binance.
A giant whale received 10,633 $ETH from Wintermute Trading and exchanged 10,633 $ETH for 19.6M $USDC at a price of $1,851, then deposited into #Compound.
The whale currently holds $232M in assets.https://t.co/hfeuoazcjp pic.twitter.com/kHPGpYu3Oz
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) April 7, 2023
Bitcoin Price Levels to Watch Out
The Bitcoin market has consolidated around $28k with stop hunts running high in both directions. On the top side, Bitcoin has scaled as high as $29.3k and $26.5 on the lower edge in the past three weeks. With the weekly death cross between the 50 and 200 moving averages at play, Bitcoin price is likely to revisit lower prices before continuing with this year’s bull market. Moreover, a double top has been perfectly forming on the higher time frame with the daily RSI indicating a falling divergence.
Crucial coming days for the decision on the #BTC Double Top$BTC #Crypto #Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/gEc4ONby2t
— Rekt Capital (@rektcapital) April 7, 2023
Bigger Picture
The cryptocurrency market is notorious for significant volatility during high-impact news, particularly from the United States Fed on monetary policy. With the U.S Fed on a mission to bring down inflation to 2 percent, it has in turn been forced to raise interest rates. Nevertheless, the United States economy continued to struggle with job cuts and the mild risks of a recession.
The #labor market cracked. Last week's jobless claims were revised up from 198K to 246K and the latest week was 228k verses expectations of 201K. Challenger reported 89,703 announced #job cuts in Mar., 15% more than Feb. It's the most since Q3 of 2020, during the Covid lockdowns.
— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) April 6, 2023
On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will release data on employment change and unemployment rate. If the employment data report is stronger than expected, analysts forecast Bitcoin’s price could drop below $26,500, or even below support. On the other hand, a weaker-than-expected employment data report could drive the price of Bitcoin above recent highs and towards $30,000.
