• Bitcoin (BTC) prices are steady
• Over $1 billion lost to hackers

Hacking is forcing thoroughness in cryptocurrency exchanges. Determined hackers have seen exchanges lose over $1 billion with Bitpoint the latest victim. At the time of writing, BTC is stable, but bears have the upper hand.

Bitcoin Price Analysis

Fundamentals

There is always a risk when trading. Unlike trading traditional securities like bonds or Forex, the cryptocurrency space is unregulated. That is perhaps the reason why government representatives are drumming up for proper regulation.

Furthermore, Bitcoin and digital assets are prone to manipulation, which is then again exacerbated by huge price fluctuations making any form of sane trading near impossible. Jay Clayton of the SEC is concerned about the lack of proper monitoring tools required for leveling the playing field.

Besides market-specific risks, external factors as the security and liquidity of the exchange can spell the difference between profitability or losses for any traders-irrespective of trading style.

Of late, security is the focal point for critics and no-coiners. Believing that cryptocurrency trading is futility or gambling at best considering the many hurdles and specifically the lack of regulation, many are nitpicking vulnerabilities of cryptocurrency exchanges.

To quantify, more than $1 billion worth of cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin have been stolen by hackers. At times sponsored by governments, these elements are wreaking havoc to investors.

Understandably, Bitcoin trading is an emerging sub-sector. Tempering and accelerating maturity, hacking will always be a part of the game as long as there are honey pots in centralized exchanges.

Candlestick Arrangement

Overly, BTC is in an uptrend partly because of the stellar gains of H1 2019. Rallying from $3,200 and topping $14,000 in six short months, buyers are in control at least from a top-down approach.

However, in light of recent developments and precisely candlestick arrangement in the daily chart, sellers are back. If anything, a retracement is normal.

Therefore, while buyers will likely print higher in days ahead, there is an opportunity for bears to counter the primary trend. Regardless, this is subject to the reaction at $11,200.

If there is demand for BTC, odds are prices will spike to $14,000. As it is, every high is a selling opportunity with fitting stop limits above $11,200. Near term, the target will be $9,500. Any degradation below this support could see BTC drop to $5,500 in a retracement.

Technical Indicators

In light of the above, July 16 bear candlestick leads this trade plan. It is extensive, confirming losses of July 14 and different from others thanks to high trading volumes of 43k.

Because of this, any surge above $11,200 or drop below $9,500 ought to be with high participation exceeding 43k or even 82k of June 26.

When it prints, that will signal trend continuation or a temporary correction with targets at $18,000 or $5,500 subject to breakout direction.

Chart courtesy of Trading View. Image Courtesy of Shutterstock