Bitcoin (BTC) begins the first week of 2023 in an uninspiring place as volatility stays away — along with traders.
After failing to budge throughout the Christmas and new year break, BTC price action remains locked in a narrow range.
Having sealed yearly losses of nearly 65% in 2022, Bitcoin has arguably seen a classic bear market year, but for the time being, few are actively predicting a recovery.
The situation is complex for the average hodler, who is watching for macro triggers courtesy of the United States Federal Reserve and economic policy impact on dollar strength.
Prior to Wall Street returning on Jan. 3, Cointelegraph takes a look at the factors at play when it comes to BTC price performance in the coming week and beyond.
Bitcoin traders fear new lows amid flatlining price
Bitcoin hodlers may be wishing for volatility, but so far, BTC price action has remained distinctly comatose, data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows.
It seems nothing — low-volume Christmas trading, the quarterly and yearly candle closes and even macro data prints before that — can shift the status quo.
As Cointelegraph reported, Bitcoin volatility even managed to hit new record lows in the run-up to the end of the year, as per the Bitcoin historical volatility index (BVOL).
Bitcoin historical volatility index (BVOL) 1-week candle chart. Source: TradingView
Looking ahead, traders are thus conservative as to what lies in store for BTC/USD as signs of a fundamental shift remain wholly absent from market behavior.
“It takes a tiny pump into resistance to turn everyone bullish again. This same bull trap has been happening during the entire 2022, yet people don’t learn,” Il Capo of Crypto argued on the day:
“12k is very likely.”BTC/USD annotated chart. Source: Il Capo of Crypto/ Twitter
His comments came alongside a modest shift upward for Bitcoin, which passed $16,700 for the first time in several days.
BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView
They were echoed by popular trader and analyst Pentoshi, who likewise flagged $12,000 as a key support zone for Bitcoin to revisit in terms of volume on…
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