Bitcoin breakout is making proponents uneasy

New York: Bitcoin broke out of its narrowest trading range in months in the waning days of March following a rough start to the year. Now, as the digital token approaches another key trendline, investors are wondering whether they're being set up for disappointment again.

With the largest cryptocurrency settling in near the top of the $30,000 to $50,000 range he predicted just weeks ago, Michael Novogratz said Thursday that he was "more constructive" on crypto while also not providing a new forecast. The billionaire investor had warned earlier not to expect big gains in 2022 with the Federal Reserve raising interest rates.

Bitcoin traded within 10% of its 50-day average price for 51 days through March 26, the longest stretch of tight trading since July 2020, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The breakout last weekend wiped out losses for the year but left Bitcoin still trading about 30% below its record high set in November.


Now, it's approaching what may be an even more important threshold - its average price over 200 days. The coin had, as of Friday, traded below that threshold for 95 days, the longest streak of bearish pattern since April 2019. After coming within 1% of its 200-day average on March 28, it now sits about 4% away.