Bitcoin struggles to maintain $17,000 ahead of PPI release this week

Bitcoin has confirmed $17,500 as the main resistance level for the week with its volume-backed correction to \(17,000. For invalidation, Bitcoin would have to break above \)17,200 but it’s unlikely without a catalyst such as the PPI release on December 9.

This price move occurred as BTC mining difficulty declined by 7.32%, the sharpest drop ever recorded in over a year. The adjustment can be seen as a relief for miners, who were forced to sell their BTC or shut down due to the market headwinds.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 is starting to look ready for this pullback move as it broke below 4,000 and is currently at the crucial support of 3,950. Failure to hold this support should send it down to 3,775. DXY is slowly picking up pace at 105.2 but has a long way to go.

Top  altcoin gainers and losers

Gainers

• Axie Infinity AXS (+8.95%)
• GensoKishi Metaverse MV (+8.88%)
• Arweave AR (+3.99%)

Losers

• Cronos CRO (-6.47%)
• GMX GMX (-5.47%)
• ETHPoW ETHW (-5.23%)

Bitcoin Technical Analysis

Bitcoin has behaved in line with expectations and was unable to breakout above \(17,500. This is in line with the double-bottom pattern that could be seen forming on the chart. Now, Bitcoin will need to at least trade above \)17,200 for another shot at the resistance level. That being said, the fair value gap remains at $16,550 and could end up being filled before the end of the week.

Ethereum Technical Analysis

Ethereum has corrected more aggressively than Bitcoin, which shows weakness, and we can expect it to go down to \(1,190 if Bitcoin decides to fill its fair value gap. ETH also has a fairly large buy wall placed at \)1,220 and we can see a lot of long positions stacked around the same price range. The second-largest cryptocurrency by marketcap needs to maintain $1,237 to avoid this scenario.

NFT Market Map

We could see more red on the NFT heatmap than yesterday as the broader market is experiencing a minor dump. However, small collections still keep increasing in volume.

Best performers among those with at least $10K in daily volume:

1. Wafuku (+17,572.51%)
2. Kamiyo (+1,895.88%)
3. Crypto Unicorns (+1,293.78%)
4. Inbetweeners (+850.47%)
5. Creepz Genesis (+687.58%)

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Disclaimer: None of the information here constitutes financial advice and market participants are advised to conduct their own research since cryptocurrencies are speculative assets with considerable risks.