Bitcoin Briefly nears $12,000 But Crypto Investors Yawn

If a Bitcoin rally goes unnoticed, has the crypto investor markets been hyped to its limits?

Only the most rabid crypto investors seem to be following the mostly stagnant  and deserted crypto markets.

Breaking through the $11,500-$11,800 range was the bulls most significant achievement of the last week and a number of analysts have noted that above the $12,000 level there is little overhead resistance.

Bitcoin hits highs breaking resistance level to a deserted landscape

This has led some traders to forecast a swift move to the $14,000-$15,000 level. This seems a little premature, less like a rise in Bitcoin and more a closed room of crypto investors talking.

This most recent move to $12,000 broke through this ‘ancient’ range and according to van de Poppe once “the price of Bitcoin breaks through this zone, then there is a lot of open range above and a new bull market will be upon us.”

If BTC surges past a level it failed to reclaim for years, it could indicate the formation of a potential bull run.

Traders also consider a critical resistance level as an area with large selling pressure. Once that level breaks, it could trigger an uptrend.

Some investors and technical analysts expect the upward momentum of Bitcoin to continue in the near-term. A large part of the expectation is the optimism for a breakout above $11,500.

For sellers, there are three strong arguments to support a bearish scenario.

First, the Bitcoin market is currently heavily skewed to buyers. The overwhelming majority of the market are longing Bitcoin and other top cryptocurrencies.

Second, the funding rates of perpetual swaps are nearing levels that are not sustainable over a prolonged period.

Perpetual swaps are a type of futures contract that does not have an expiration date. It is also the most popular form of Bitcoin futures contract.

Funding rates of perpetual swaps across exchanges are surging because the number of long contracts is rising.

Third, the multi-year resistance at $11,500 could serve as an area for sellers to defend.

One Highly Optimistic Metric Suggests A Difficult Battle Between Bulls And Bears

While sellers have several viable reasons to be bearish, the exchange inflows of Bitcoin are not increasing.

The term exchange inflow refers to Bitcoin received by exchanges. Investors typically send BTC to trading platforms to sell and as such, exchange inflows often hint at heightened selling pressure.

Data from on-chain market analysis firm Glassnode spotted no large-scale deposits of BTC into exchanges. That could indicate that whales are not selling BTC yet.

A key resistance level at $11,500 and high funding rates could raise chances of a market cool-off. But investors are seemingly optimistic in the medium-term, and expect BTC to overcome it.