Bitcoin price is up over 20% in days as Wall Street opens to many bank stocks suspended over extreme losses. BTC hit its highest since the start of the month on March 13 as U.S. bank stocks saw the biggest mass suspension in history.
Bitcoin Price Explodes Phenomenally
Data acquired from TradingView tracked an explosively bullish hourly candle for BTC/USD, which surged to $23,725 on Bitstamp. This move was eagerly expected by market participants, most of whom had warned of extreme volatility at the Wall Street open.
45min into US open, and banks getting halted left, right and centre. By 4pm eastern the Fed Funds might be back at 0%. $XAU $XAG $BTC $ETH is the only way!
— Arthur Hayes (@CryptoHayes) March 13, 2023
Their expectations came true, with Bitcoin and altcoins benefiting from the huge uncertainty surrounding bank stocks specifically as trading got underway.
The fallout from the weekend’s failure of two more U.S. banks was keenly felt, not just at home but in Europe, where banks also saw massive losses.
One contributor, Michaël van de Poppe, founder and CEO of trading firm Eight, reacted:
“Massive move of Bitcoin. Now facing the next resistance zone (I couldn’t get $21.6K). The trend is back up, buying the dip on S/R flips seems the game. Resistance around $23.3-23.6K, if it stalls and consolidates -> altcoins should continue.”
Trader and analyst Rekt Capital, while previously insisting that the monthly candle needed to close strongly to confirm a long-term trend break, nevertheless called Bitcoin’s plunge below $20,000 the week before a ‘bear trap.’
He wrote in one of many tweets as Bitcoin surged past $23,700:
“The way BTC has recovered within such a short space of time just shows that the drop to ~$20000 was a Bear Trap.”
More analysis called the uptick highly ‘phenomenal,’ with 18% added versus the local lows from March 10.
Phenomenal #BTC rebound from the Pi Cycle MA and Monthly Range Low support area$BTC has rallied +18% and is now attempting a breakout from the Range
It's been a crazy week in Crypto#Crypto #Bitcoin https://t.co/2bWKwPUlF2 pic.twitter.com/rrG0bsNita
— Rekt Capital (@rektcapital) March 13, 2023
Trader G a a h continued:
“If $22.4k holds as the new floor, that’s all and a bit more that price needs to gain momentum to the Main Resistance in the $24.1k-$25k range and truly break through.”
“We could have more price explosions, watch out in that region.”
G a a h linked a liquidity chart from Caue Oliveira, head of research and on-chain analysis at Brazilian crypto insights firm BlockTrends.
Bank Stocks Suspended As Contagion Spreads to Europe
Away from crypto, the picture was gradually improving for U.S. stocks – with the exception of some of the banks.
Notably, some of the worst performers on the day included First Republic Bank. It lost 76% to see trading suspended soon after the opening bell. In general, as entrepreneur Brian Roemmele noted, more U.S. bank stocks were suspended than ever before in history.
First Republic slumps more than 60% in US premarket trading as measures taken by US authorities to calm investor concerns failed to provide relief to the regional lender’s shares. (BBG) pic.twitter.com/Jf49izSvcu
— Holger Zschaepitz (@Schuldensuehner) March 13, 2023
In addition to rethinking the possibility of Fed interest rate hikes on March 22, markets in the meantime were also reducing anticipations that the European Central Bank (ECB) would hike interest rates by 0.5% this week.
Among the European losses on the day was the already-embattled Credit Suisse (CS). The bank was down more than 7% to new all-time lows at the time of publication.
Alasdair Macleod, head of research for Goldmoney, queried:
“The problem for Credit Suisse (and others like it) is that it cannot cover deposit flight by borrowing in money markets. It can only go to the Swiss National Bank, in effect for a second bail out. Will the SNB play ball?”
