Bitcoin Price Marks First-Ever “Golden Cross” During ETF Hype

Freelance Journalist

Andrew Throuvalas

Freelance Journalist

Andrew Throuvalas

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Andrew is a journalist and content writer with a passion for Bitcoin. His work has been featured with Cryptonews, Decrypt, CryptoPotato, and Bitcoin Magazine, among others.

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January 9, 2024 11:03 EST

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Bitcoin (BTC) just flashed an ultra-bullish technical indicator called the “golden cross” for the first time ever on its weekly price chart.

A golden cross occurs when a short-term moving average of an asset’s price crosses above a long-term moving average. Market participants often interpret this pattern as a sign of an oncoming bull market after a long bearish trading period.

In this case, Bitcoin’s 50-week moving average (WMA) has crossed above its 200-week moving average.

JUST IN: #Bitcoin made a 'Golden Cross' for the first time in its history, with the 50 week MA crossing over the 200 week MA.

Bullish! 🚀 pic.twitter.com/94yh2UnyML

— Bitcoin Archive (@BTC_Archive) January 9, 2024

That’s a historical first for Bitcoin, which first witnessed the former descend beneath the latter (aka the “death cross”) in early 2023.

The initial death cross followed one of Bitcoin’s worst-performing years in 2022. The asset crumbled by over 75% from its all-time high, following blowups and liquidations from crypto giants like Terra, Celsius, BlockFi, and FTX.

By mid-June 2022, the asset’s price had fallen beneath its 200WMA for the first time ever.

The Golden Cross, by contrast, followed a year of stellar recovery and renewed optimism for BTC. Investors fled to the asset amid wavering confidence in the U.S. banking system and heightening geopolitical tensions.

Meanwhile, confidence that a Bitcoin spot ETF will soon reach the United States has reignited hopes of large institutions being able to access digital assets. Asset managers like BlackRock and Valkyrie both expect ETF approvals to arrive by Wednesday.

Is Bitcoin Prepared To Moon?

Addressing the Golden Cross, long-term crypto investor “Jelle” said this to his X followers:

“The first ever Bitcoin weekly death cross was rather uneventful, but we’re about to find out what a weekly golden cross means for the market. This could get interesting.”

BTC is now up 170% over the past year, after rising to a 22-month high of $47,100 on Monday.

Highly optimistic Bitcoin price calls are making the rounds on both social media and in traditional investment circles. On Monday, analysts for Standard Chartered predicted that Bitcoin ETFs could trigger inflows that send BTC to $200,000 per coin by the end of 2025.

That same day, Fidelity’s Director of Research on Digital Assets, Chris Kulper, warned Bitcoin investors to “expect more volatility ahead” as the market starts to “heat up” under the surface.

Similarly, analysts for JPMorgan have predicted that Bitcoin will reach $150,000 by mid-2025.