tapped lows beneath $41,700 after the Dec. 15 Wall Street open as BTC price action fielded fresh sell-side pressure.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: TradingView

Bitcoin balks at SEC Coinbase rejection

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD diving over $1,300 or 3.2% on the day.

The largest cryptocurrency, fresh from a recovery from snap volatility the day prior, failed to hold its ground at $43,000 as Bitcoin bulls were denied upside continuation.

BTC price weakness accompanied news that United States regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), had refused a request by major exchange Coinbase to rework the rules for crypto.

“Today, the Commission denied a Petition for Rulemaking filed on behalf of Coinbase Global, Inc.,” a statement from SEC Chair Gary Gensler read.

“I was pleased to support the Commission’s decision for three reasons. First, existing laws and regulations apply to the crypto securities markets. Second, the SEC addresses the crypto securities markets through rulemaking as well. Third, it is important to maintain Commission discretion in setting its own rulemaking priorities.”

The SEC is already implicated in the current crypto market narrative thanks to expectations for it to approve the first U.S. Bitcoin spot price exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in early 2024.

In an interview with Bloomberg on Dec. 13, Gensler acknowledged recent legal proceedings linked to the agency’s repeated rejections of Bitcoin spot ETF applications.

The SEC, he said, “does things according to our authorities and how courts interpret our authorities, and that’s what we’ll do here as well.”

Analyzing the latest setup on order books, popular trader Skew flagged increasing bid support intensifying at $41,000.

“Increasing bid depth around $41K, will be interesting from here. Active supply around $44K,” part of a post on X (formerly Twitter) noted.

BTC/USDT order book data for Binance. Source: Skew/X

Subsequent analysis highlighted low-timeframe exponential moving averages, or EMAs, now back in play.

$BTC 4H
Price contesting 4H EMAs again & RSI below 50 currently, important close coming up

those spot bids line up with the 4H 100EMA & 18D EMA
~ systematic bids https://t.co/L89Nl6pW12 pic.twitter.com/G6CD5zCfXy

— Skew Δ (@52kskew) December 15, 2023

BTC price bulls in Fibonacci showdown

Zooming out, meanwhile, Keith Alan, co-founder of trading resource Material Indicators revealed an ongoing struggle to flip a key weekly level back to support.

Related: US dollar hits 4-month low as Bitcoin trader predicts 10% drop to come

This came in the form of the 0.5 Fibonacci retracement line near $42,500, one of several key hurdles to overcome on the way toward $69,000 all-time highs.

If we look at the #Fibonacci levels from the ATH to the macro swing low for #Bitcoin we find ourselves testing support inside the Golden Pocket. That’s bullish if the .5 Fib holds and leads to a break out above the .618 level, but at the moment there seems to be a battle to hang… pic.twitter.com/b5J6ajKbjh

— Keith Alan (@KAProductions) December 15, 2023

Material Indicators further showed large-volume traders increasing buying activity at the time of writing.

“Mega Whales are buying, and trying to reclaim $42k,” part of X commentary summarized.

BTC/USDT liquidity heatmap for Binance. Source: Material Indicators/X

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

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The post Bitcoin whales aim to reclaim $42K after BTC price dives over 3% appeared first on Crypto News Australia.

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Filed under: Bitcoin - @ December 15, 2023 5:13 pm