Bitcoin Attempts to Break Downtrend; Faces Resistance Toward $45K

Bitcoin (BTC) buyers were active over the past 24 hours as the cryptocurrency topped $40,000 for the first time in two weeks. Upside momentum is improving after technical indicators reached the most oversold levels since March 2020.

BTC was trading around $40,500 at press time and is up 10% over the past 24 hours.

Buyers will need to make a decisive move above $40,000 in order to reverse the price downtrend since the November peak around $69,000. Over the past few months, brief rallies have been capped below resistance levels, which means sellers have been in control.

Over the short term, however, bitcoin could see additional upside, especially since the relative strength index (RSI) is not overbought on the daily chart. The next level of resistance is around $45,000, which could stall the current rally.

Bitcoin's price will need to remain above $37,000 over the weekend in order to signal the start of a recovery phase. Still, significant price gains are unlikely if negative momentum signals are confirmed on the monthly chart.

Technical confirmation requires at least two consecutive daily or weekly price closes above or below a major support/resistance level. When gains or losses are carried over into the following trading session it may reflect conviction among buyers and sellers, leading to more reliable price targets.