After more than a week of ranging in a $500 zone, BTC/USD saw an attempt at a break, now falls below $9K.
Bitcoin (BTC) price lost support at $9,000 on Nov. 8 after several days of downward action finally saw markets make a decisive move.
Data from Coin360 showed BTC/USD breaking out of its narrow trading corridor between $9,000 and $9,500 on early Friday.
Bitcoin flickers bearish
That corridor had broadly characterized the largest cryptocurrency since the end of October. A brief spurt beyond to $9,520 was soon met with resistance, while a dip into the $8,000 range was also short lived.
In daily trading, Bitcoin hit local lows of $8,980 before likewise bouncing higher, with markets currently trading at around $9,000.
Bitcoin 24-hour price chart. Source: Coin360
As Cointelegraph reported, suspicions have mounted among analysts over price behavior in recent weeks and months. Earlier, erratic moves CME Group’s Bitcoin futures market gained particular attention.
There, the Bitcoin price moved to fill a “gap” in trading — observed when one session ends higher or lower than where the next begins — by suddenly crashing by hundreds of dollars before recovering minutes later.
Filling in futures gaps has become standard behavior for Bitcoin, with analysts using them to forecast potential market drops.
But some still remain bullish on the long-term outlook, with regular Cointelegraph contributor Michaël van de Poppe this week predicting BTC/USD rising to new all-time highs of $22,000 next year.
XRP continues pre-conference fall
Beyond Bitcoin, Friday saw further poor performance for two major altcoins: XRP and Bitcoin SV (BSV).
As previously noted, XRP, the token notionally associated with payment network Ripple, failed to impress as the latter’s annual Swell conference got underway this week.
XRP 7-day price chart. Source: Coin360
Since the event began, XRP/USD has fallen by more than 10%, at press time trading at just above $0.28 — its lowest since Oct. 25.
BSV, meanwhile, fell 6.2% on Friday to $128.
