What’s Next for the Bitcoin (BTC) Price? Here’s Why it’s Very Important to Achieve $52,500 This Week

The Bitcoin current trade set-up indicates a bearish formation in both the short and long term, as the token is trading within a pre-halving phase, in the middle of a retrace. Furthermore, the token posted another bearish weekly close, indicating that the price may begin with a new pullback. However, Ethereum appears to be gaining strength in comparison to Bitcoin, and a significant sentiment shift towards ETH and altcoins could occur, negatively impacting the BTC price.

To avoid the bearish scenario, the BTC price must remain above the lower support, maintain an ascending consolidation, and secure the levels that serve as a threshold for the upcoming rally. The price has been held tight above $51,000 throughout the past weekend and due to a huge drop in volume, the volatility has plunged. This has compelled the price to maintain a sideways trend. 

However, the bulls are trying to defend the local support at $51,000, which indicates they are preparing for the next jump, possibly above $52,000 anytime from now. With this, if the BTC price reaches resistance above $52,300 to $52,500, the markets may witness huge liquidations, leading to a fresh pullback that may be harder than before. 

The above chart represents the BTC liquidation heatmap from Coinglass, which suggests the token may face a mass liquidation as it archives levels above $52,300. More than $75 million is expected to get liquidated after achieving these levels, which suggests the price may again end up trapping the bulls at the local highs. Therefore, it appears that the BTC price wants to take out the higher band first, then swoop down to catch the lower one before initiating a rebound. 

Besides, the BTC price is forming a bull flag as it is consolidating within a very narrow range, which raises the expectation of a breakout. Therefore, the price of Bitcoin may consolidate and eventually rise back above $54,000 or it may even go as high as $58,000, which may end up in a huge pullback. As per a well-known analyst, Michael van de Poppe, the upcoming correction may drag the levels to as low as $40,000 to $42,000 after the halving. 

The Bitcoin (BTC) price closed above $50,000 for the second week in a row, and a slightly elevated range for the week could fuel some hopes of an upward trend until Bitcoin Halving.