Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin Spike: Analyst Warns Apex Crypto Could Dip Back To $20K If Tech Selloff Intensifies

Major coins traded in the green on Wednesday, as the global market cap rose 4.10% to $1.06 trillion, recorded at 8:30 p.m. EST.

What Happened: The largest cryptocurrency by market value, Bitcoin BTC/USD, rebounded from a late Tuesday swoon to trade above $23,000. Ethereum ETH/USD was up over 5% at $1,623. Dogecoin DOGE/USD rose p 4.58% in the last 24 hours, trading at $0.086.

U.S. equities saw a choppy trading session on Wednesday as the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average fell slightly by a few percentage points. Investors were seen weighing the latest series of fourth-quarter reports, most notably from iconic firms such as Boeing and Microsoft. Meanwhile, many other stocks drifted sideways as the day unfolded, leaving traders on the lookout for the next shift in sentiment.

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Electric car maker Tesla TSLA revealed in its latest earnings report that it has not purchased nor sold any Bitcoin in the fourth quarter for the second consecutive quarter. The value of its digital assets totaled $184 million at the end of the quarter, a decrease from the $218 million at the end of the third quarter, owing to the impairment charges caused by the decline in the price of the apex coin. At the end of the third quarter, Bitcoin was priced under $20,000, while it was approximately $16,500 at end of the fourth quarter.

“Bitcoin is continuing to trade in a roughly $1,000 range between $22,300 and $23,300 and is down a little over 1% so far on the day. Under the circumstances, we’re seeing decent resilience with sentiment elsewhere turning more negative. Considering the gains that preceded it as well, the longer it can hold onto them, the more confident the crypto community will feel in its sustainability and be tempted back in. Of course, that’s all headline-dependent, which has been less of a headwind recently,” said Edward Moya, a senior market analyst at OANDA, in a note seen by Benzinga.

Moya added, “Bitcoin is lower as a broader selloff on Wall Street has a lot of traders entering into de-risking mode. The January stock market rally might be over and that could drag crypto lower here. Bitcoin could be vulnerable to a dip towards the $20,000 level if the tech-driven selloff on Wall Street intensifies over the next couple of days.” ​

Crypto analyst Michaël van de Poppe said he would be interested in buying Bitcoin at two levels: $23,093 which he calls “crucial resistance to break’ and $21,410.

Kaleo, a pseudonymous analyst, said he has never been so bullish on Bitcoin in his life. The analyst believes the current rally is about to accelerate rapidly and the price will reach the $40,000 - $45,000 range within several weeks. However, Kaleo is not expecting a new all-time high (ATH). Instead, he predicts consolidation in the same range for a few months before the price retraces back to the mid-to high-$20,000 later this year. “Just really do believe we're [due] for a massive god candle sometime in the near future,” the analyst added.

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