Bitcoin price hits $34K as trader forecasts fresh weekend resistance showdown

Bitcoin (BTC) touched $34,000 on July 24 after the latest resistance flip held to propel the market higher.

Bitcoin battles $34,000

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD just hitting the $34,000 on Bitstamp on Saturday before returning to linger around $200 lower.

The past 24 hours were profitable for traders as Bitcoin launched from $32,000 to deliver 4% gains that were holding above $33,800 at the time of writing. 

For Cointelegraph contributor Michaël van de Poppe, it was necessary for the strength to continue and for $32,500 to hold in the event of a retracement.

"Bitcoin breaks through that resistance at $32.5-$32.7K. Holding that for support = likely continuation towards $36K," he forecast in a Twitter update.

"Overall, the next resistance at $34.5K is possibly being reached during the weekend."

Such behavior would not be at all surprising given the wide trading range in which BTC/USD is currently acting — $42,000, the point of all-time highs from February, remains the range ceiling and line in the sand for a definitive bull market continuation.

Fellow trader and analyst Rekt Capital meanwhile highlighted ongoing changes with the 50-week exponential moving average (EMA) as a sign of longer-timeframe bullishness returning.

Last week, #BTC broke down from the triangular market structure that was formed by the 21-week EMA resistance & the 50-week EMA support

Today, $BTC is just above the 50 EMA, trying to reclaim it as support

Weekly Close above the 50 EMA will confirm the reclaim#Crypto #Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/fsDm4hrK4C

— Rekt Capital (@rektcapital) July 24, 2021

On the more cautious side, as Cointelegraph reported, $24,000 projections remain should Bitcoin reverse, with one trader eyeing a CME futures gap nearby as possible support.

"We see support at the $22k and 24k level should there be a breakdown below the current support level," trading suite Decentrader added in a fresh market update on Friday.

Ethereum "confirming" breakout

Altcoins meanwhile slowed the pace of their own gains but nontheless retained impressive performance over the week.

Related: Just HODL! Bitcoin and Ethereum outperform ‘lower risk’ crypto index funds

With many of the top fifty cryptocurrencies by market cap seeing weekly returns of 10% or more, confidence was returning to the market.

Ether (ETH), the largest altcoin, traded back above $2,000, hitting ten-day highs.

"So far, so good towards confirming a breakout here," Rekt Capital said about ETH/USD performance.