Bitcoin (BTC) price analysis: BTC is vulnerable to losses as long as $8,000 remains unconquered

Bitcoin (BTC) has been confined to a narrow range lately. The coin broke below $8,000 handle at the beginning of the week and stayed under this barrier ever since. The lack of recovery momentum might put the recent bull’s trend at risk and trigger deeper downside correction in the nearest future. 

The bleak technical picture inspired some bearish forecasts. Experts believe that the price may extend the downside to as low as $5,400 before the bulls take back the control over the situation.  

According to Josh Rager, a famous cryptocurrency trader on Crypto Twitter warned recently that a sustainable move below that handle would bring Bitcoin into a long-term bearish trend.

“BTC Pullback Areas: The lowest I see Bitcoin pulling back is the .618 fib ($5404) as any lower would be bearish, IMO. Major confluence w/ previous support/resistance between $6109 to $6814. I’m personally watching for a bounce in this area with major interest near $6400 (VPVR),” he wrote.

Meanwhile, on the intraday level, the initial support for BTC/USD is created by a confluence of SMA200 (Simple Moving Average) and the lower boundary of the Bollinger Bands on the 4-hour timeframe. Once it is cleared, the sell-off is likely to gain traction with the next focus on $7,300 strengthened by the lower line fo the previous consolidation channel. Psychological $7,000 serves as reliable support that is likely to stop the sell-off for the time being.

On the upside, we will need to see a sustainable move above $8,000 to improve the technical picture meaningfully. A sustainable move above this handle will open up the way towards the definite bullish aim of $8,250, created by a confluence of technical indicators, including SMA100 and SMA50 (4-hour) and an upper line of the above-said channel.

BTC/USD, 4-hour chart