By Samuel Indyk
Investing.com – The price of Bitcoin was holding firm above $46,000 on Thursday morning, continuing to trade in a relatively narrow range after Tuesday’s flash crash. The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation currently remains supported by its 200-day moving average which sits just under the current price near $45,950.
Outperformance has been observed in tokens related to Decentralised Finance (DeFi) applications, such as Ethereum, Cardano, and Solana.
Solana is the best performing major cryptocurrency on Thursday, rising over 30% in the last 24 hours. The coin is now the sixth largest cryptocurrency by market cap, having overtaken XRP in the recent surge. In the last seven days, Solana has risen almost 80%, taking the price above $200 for the first time. Over the same timeframe, Bitcoin is down 7%, Ethereum is down 6%, and Cardano is down 14%.
Where to next for Bitcoin?
With Bitcoin remaining relatively steady over the last 24 hours, focus is turning on whether another pull back may be seen or whether Bitcoin will resume its upward momentum back towards $50,000.
To the downside, the 200-day moving average continues to act as support around $45,950, although Bitcoin has briefly fallen below that level in recent days.
A drop below that level could see $45,000 come into play and the 50-day moving average around $44,700.
Edward Moya, Senior Market Analyst at OANDA, argues that the long term bull thesis for many crypto traders remains in tact, but points out two levels where there might be buyers.
“The $45,000 level should hold for Bitcoin, but if it breaks buyers will likely wait until $40,000 before coming in strong,” Moya said in an emailed note.
On the upside, the $47,800-$48,000 level could act as resistance before a move higher towards the psychological $50,000 level and the recent cycle high near $52,900.