Bitcoin (BTC) got a boost from the start of Wall Street trading Feb. 28 as U.S. stocks opened to a defining week for markets amid geopolitical tensions.
BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView
Traders eye BTC exit beyound $40,000
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD spiking to $40,560 on Bitstamp after the opening bell Monday.
The move concluded what had been a relatively calm weekend punctuated only by a comedown into the weekly close.
With the monthly close approaching, eyes were on whether Bitcoin could definitively avoid sealing a fourth month of declines in a row.Â
Now can we go? #Bitcoin
Gaining the upper range ($40.8k-$44.4k) and holding trading elevates the safety of the bullish structure formed.
$37k absorbed all liquidity?
If so, price will respond by breaking $44.4k pic.twitter.com/oyA805nX7l– G a a h (@gaah_im) February 28, 2022
With the Wall Street gap up totaling $1,900 in an hour, the mood among traders favored an attack of $40,000 resistance to reassert presence higher.
For popular trader and analyst Crypto Ed, $42,000 was an area of interest.
#BTC update
Still confident about that move to 42k which I shared as 1 of the first on thursday….BTC reached my green box yesterday but the bounce is stalling. Could even do 1 more leg down and I’m still confident.
Will trade it only after more confirmation tho. pic.twitter.com/udW9VWaOjw
– Crypto_Ed_NL *not asking to send DM’s* (@Crypto_Ed_NL) February 28, 2022
U.S. stocks were meanwhile unexpectedly calm on the open in the wake of a sea change in relations with Russia, including the almost total ban on transacting with its central bank.
The S&P 500 traded down around 1% at the time of writing, with the Federal Reserve possibly already taking action to cushion the blow of Russian sanctions.
“From here the idea is that if BTC can break 39.5k I think 41.5/42.0k comes next, and I’d expect LUNA to continue outperforming. Keeping my focus on it as long as it works,” popular Twitter account Pierre wrote in a cross-crypto update.
Altcoins see calm start of week trading
On the topic of Terra’s LUNA token, this was one of only two standouts among major altcoins at the time of writing.
Related:Â War puts BTC price to the test – 5 things to watch in Bitcoin this week
LUNA/USD was up 3.9% at $78.27, still behind leader Solana (SOL) which managed 4.4%.
By contrast, Ether (ETH), the largest altcoin by market cap, was down 1.6% on the day at $2,718.
ETH/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView
For most, however, even the short-term timeframes remained a mystery thanks to geopolitical events.
“I honestly, honestly, don’t know what to expect this week from the markets. Slightly in favor of higher for risk-on assets, but it’s an equal bet almost,” Cointelegraph contributor Michaël van de Poppe admitted.