It is important to note that this bearish price action may have invalidated the crypto’s midterm uptrend, due to it breaking below a key ascending trendline that had been formed over the past few weeks.
The break below this level could lead BTC to see a notable near-term decline, with analysts widely targeting a pullback towards the lower-$9,000 region.
Bitcoin Plummets to $9,700 in Early-Morning Sell-Off as Analysts Target Further Losses
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading down over 3% at its current price of $9,930, which marks a notable decline from its daily highs of nearly $10,400.
Throughout yesterday, BTC had been caught within a firm bout of sideways trading around $10,300, which appeared to have marked a consolidation phase in a relatively tight trading range between $10,100 and $10,400.
The break below $10,000 came about in an incredibly sharp movement that happened over the span of five minutes, signaling that bears have now garnered some significant near-term strength.
Big Cheds, a popular crypto analyst, said in a recent tweet that he believes Bitcoin will continue dropping until it reached $9,600, which is where he anticipates it will find enough buying pressure to bounce.
“Bitcoin – $9600 then bounce IMO,” he concisely noted.
$BTC #Bitcoin $9600 then bounce IMO
— Big Cheds (@BigCheds) February 15, 2020
If Bitcoin is able to bounce at this level, it is imperative that bulls recapture $10,000 due to its technical and psychological importance, as a failure to climb above this level could spell trouble for what comes next.
BTC May Have Just Invalidated Its Mid-Term Uptrend
This recent breakdown also marked a movement below an ascending support line that had been bolstering the cryptocurrency, with the drop below this level signaling that its mid-term uptrend could be kaput.
Josh Rager, another prominent cryptocurrency analyst, explained in a recent tweet that Bitcoin could drop as low as $9,300 in the near-term, with a failure to recapture $10,165 spelling trouble for what comes next.
“BTC Nice break down of the range. Shared this week if $10,150 broke down, my target would be at $9700 with a potential bounce there before continuing to $9300. Price needs to reclaim above $10,165+ again. Until then bias is changed to short term downtrend,” he said while pointing to the below chart.
$BTC Nice break down of the range
Shared this week if $10,150 broke down, my target would be at $9700 with a potential bounce there before continuing to $9300
Price needs to reclaim above $10,165+ again
Until then bias is changed to short term downtrend pic.twitter.com/NnX75qFUX3
— Josh Rager 
(@Josh_Rager) February 15, 2020
The coming few days should offer insight into the state of the entire market, as a mid-term Bitcoin downtrend could lead many major altcoins to also see some notable losses, potentially invalidating their recent bullishness.
Featured image from Shutterstock.