Bitcoin 
BTCUSD preserved $98,000 on Feb. 21 after bulls saw their highest daily close in nearly three weeks.
Bitcoin trader expects return of six figures
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTCUSD building on gains after the previous daily candle closed at $98,330 on Bitstamp.
While still in a narrow range, BTC price action provided much-needed relief to traders after several weeks of barely any volatility.
US macro data aided the recovery, with initial jobless claims exceeding the median forecast by 4,000 to reach 219,000 — a potential sign that the labor market may not withstand longer periods of restrictive economic policy.
The latest estimates from CME Group’s FedWatch Tool nonetheless continued to display practically zero likelihood of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates at its next meeting in March.
Analyzing medium timeframes on BTCUSD, popular trader Patric H. said that flipping $100,000 to support was one of the essential next moves.
A chart uploaded to X additionally showed two descending trend lines in need of being breached.
“Waiting for a move in either direction,” he acknowledged in subsequent commentary on the day.
Fellow trader Roman meanwhile described $98,400 as a “pivot point” — one which should spark $10,000 of upside should price pass it.
“Break 98.4k and my guess is 108 is next,” part of an X post read the day prior.
“Really liking how volume is trending lower as price went down during this range. Let’s hope for a breakout!”
BTC price all-time high missing from risk-asset race
Bitcoin thus joined gold and stocks as a rising risk-asset tide took markets higher.
New record highs for both gold and the S&P 500 this week further underscored crypto markets’ need to recover hefty Q1 losses.
“In fact, gold has more than DOUBLED the S&P 500’s YTD return. In 2024, gold and the S&P 500 had an unprecedented correlation of ~0.81,” trading resource The Kobeissi Letter noted in an X thread on the topic.
Gold’s market cap crossed $20 trillion for the first time in history, but Bitcoin proponents saw little to be impressed by.
“Gold is at a new all-time high! Congratulations to everyone who has invested in gold these past five years! You have almost doubled your money in that time!” network economist Timothy Peterson, author of the popular paper “Metcalfe’s Law as a Model for Bitcoin’s Value,” reacted.
“On average, Bitcoin doubled every 16 months.”
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.
