- Bitcoin price has been on a notable uptrend, rising 43% in a span of two weeks.
- The US banking crisis worsens and could claim First Republic Bank as its next victim.
- The BTC technical setup points to a continued uptrend, especially after $28,000 is reclaimed as support.
Bitcoin (BTC) is showing strength as it comes into the week. The price reached $28,578 on Monday and held over $27,600 at the time of writing. The risk of a deep drop is low as BTC shows a bullish setup to July 2021 before the run-up to all-time highs in November of the same year.
The big crypto has managed to disassociate itself from the narrative of being correlated with US equities and macroeconomic factors. Bitcoin has been on an uptrend for more than a week despite the ongoing banking crisis in the United States, with another bank on the brink of collapse.
Banking Crisis: Is First Republic Bank Next?
Conditions in the US banking sector are taking a turn for the worst, lining up the First Republic Bank as its likely next victim. After the voluntary closure of Silvergate bank and the collapse of Signature and Silicon Valley Banks, First Republic Bank may meet the same fate as the banking crisis escalates.
The commercial bank’s survival hung on a cliff on Monday as its stock price plummeted 47%, down nearly 90% since its close on March 8, the day the Silicon Valley Bank collapse initiated panic in the financial sector. The bank’s stock price stood at $12,18 at press time.
The catastrophic drop in First Republic’s stock price worsened to the point where trading of the FRC shares had to be halted earlier on Monday, highlighting the fears that threaten to consume it. Although trading resumed after a while, the sell-off was so intense that the trading was halted again within 20 seconds.
Until recently, the San Francisco-based bank boasted $176 billion in deposits and an attractive list of high-net-worth clientele.
Last week, a $30 billion cash infusion by some of the biggest names on Wall Street was made to rescue the First Republic bank, but it did little to calm investors.
There are growing concerns about the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting scheduled for March 21-22. While many expect a 25 basis points rate hike over the earlier estimates of a 50 basis points hike, others think that the Fed should not raise interest rates, at least for now.
Despite these concerns, Bitcoin price appears safe and set to move higher.
Bitcoin Uptrend Remains Intact
Bitcoin price stood at $27,643 at the time of writing, rising by more than 43% in 12 days. The pioneer cryptocurrency is fighting seller congestion from the $28,000 psychological level. Flipping the same into a support floor will prepare BTC for a move first to yesterday’s high at $28,578 and later to the $30,000 supply level.
Higher than that, bulls would be bolstered to push the price to $30,616, embraced by the 123.6% Fibonacci retracement level. The last time the most significant crypto asset in the world by market capitalization was at this price was nine months ago, on June 8, 2022.
BCT/USD Daily Chart
The up-facing moving averages supported Bitcoin’s continued upward traction. In addition, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) was positioned in the positive region. The price strength at 69 suggested that BTC bulls completely controlled its price. Moreover, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence Indicator (MACD) was moving upwards in the positive region. This implied that the market sentiment was still bullish, adding credence to the positive narrative.
On the downside, traders should watch out for any potential decline before jumping into trading BTC, as the crypto asset is susceptible to corrections. The skyrocketing price has pushed the cryptocurrency to the brink of being overbought, as evidenced by the RSI. As such, Bitcoin may extend the ongoing correction with the first line of defense emerging from the 78.6% Fibonacci retracement level at $26,730.
Additional lines of support would emerge from the 61.8% Fibonacci level at $25,277, the $25,000 psychological level, and the 50% retracement level at $24,255. Lower than that, the 50-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) at $23,515 and the 38.2% extension level at $23,239 would be possible breathing points for Bitcoin. Traders could expect BTC to oscillate within the $23,500 and $22,300 price range for some time before making another attempt at recovery.
