The US labor market added 528,000 jobs in July, much better than estimates of 258,000. Wages saw growth of 5.2% on an annual basis and 0.5% on the month. This indicates that inflation remains high and that the US Federal Reserve may continue to raise interest rates in the near future.
After staying close to the US stock markets over the past several months, the crypto space could be ready to print a new course.
Mike McGlone, chief commodity strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence, and chief market structure analyst Jimmy Coates, said in a recent report that Bitcoin (BTC) has started building a base similar to that seen near $5,000 in 2018-2019. They expect the recovery to decouple from stocks and behave like “US Treasuries or gold”.
Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360
Although cryptocurrency prices fell sharply during the ongoing bear market, it did not affect investor appetite. A report by crypto analytics firm Messari and Dove Metrics showed that the crypto space raised $30.3 billion in funds in 2022, exceeding the total amount raised in 2021.
Can Bitcoin continue its recovery or will the bears pose a strong challenge at higher levels? Let’s study the charts of the top 10 cryptocurrencies to find out.
BTC / USDT
Bears pulled the price below the 20-day exponential moving average ($22,630) on August 4 but were unable to sustain the lower levels. This indicates that the bulls are defending the level aggressively.
BTC/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView
The 20-day gradual slope exponential moving average and the RSI in positive territory indicate a minor advantage for the buyers. If the price rises above the 20-day moving average, the bulls will try to push the BTC/USDT pair to the upper resistance at $24,668.
This is an important level to watch because if the price breaks above $24668, the pair could gain momentum and move higher towards $28,000 and then $32,000. This movement will indicate that the pair may have bottomed.
Contrary to this assumption, if the price breaks below the current level or upper resistance and breaks below the 20 day EMA, this will indicate that bears continue to sell on small rallies. That could open the door for a drop to the 50-day simple moving average (SMA) ($21,388).
ETH / USDT
Ether (ETH) has been trading between the 20-day EMA ($1,560) and the $1,700 resistance over the past four days. Usually, trading in a narrow range is followed by an expansion of the range.
ETH/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView
The 20-day upward sloping EMA and the RSI are in positive territory, indicating the advantage of the buyers. A breakout and a close above the upper resistance area between $1,700 and $1,785 could open the doors to a potential rally to $2,000 and later to $2,200.
Alternatively, if the ETH/USDT pair drops from the current level and breaks below the 20 day EMA, this will indicate that the bears continue to defend the upper region with all their might. That could lead to a drop to the strong support level at $1280.
BNB / USDT
BNB bounced off the $275 support on August 2 and broke above the immediate resistance at $302 on August 3. This indicates the resumption of the upward movement.
BNB/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView
The 20-day upward sloping EMA ($277) and the overbought RSI indicate that the bulls are in command. The BNB/USDT pair could rise to the tough resistance at $350. This level is likely to attract strong selling from bears.
To negate this uptrend, the bears will have to plunge and hold the price below the 20 day EMA. If that happens, short-term traders may rush towards the exit and that could pull the pair down to the 50-day simple moving average ($246).
XRP / USDT
Buyers managed to hold the 20-day EMA support ($0.36) in the past few days, but failed to make a strong recovery in XRP. This indicates that the bears are selling on rallies.
XRP/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView
The XRP/USDT pair may remain stuck between the 20-day moving average and the upper resistance area between $0.39 and $0.41. If the bulls cross the upper barrier, the positive momentum could pick up and the pair could rise to $0.48 and then to $0.54.
Alternatively, if the price drops and breaks below the 20-day moving average, this will indicate that demand has dried up. This could cause the pair to sink to the 50-day simple moving average ($0.34) and maintain the pair’s range between $0.30 and $0.39 for a few more days.
