Bitcoin price analysis: BTC/USD bulls pause before another trip to $4,000

Bitcoin spiked to $3,923 on Wednesday, for the first time since December 4. While the gains proved to be unsustainable, the coin continues trading with an upside bias as the recent 16% rally of Bitcoin revived optimism on the market. BTC/USD is changing hands at $3,742 at the time of writing, 1.5% higher both on a day-to-day basis and since the beginning of Thursday.

BTC/USD, the technical picture

On the 4-hour chart, BTC/USD is trading above the upper border of a short-term downside channel. Now it serves as a local support area created at $3,670. Once below, the sell-off may be extended towards SMA100 (currently at $3,600). This barrier is likely to serve as an entry point for short-term bulls. However, a sustainable movement lower will darken Bitcoin's technical picture and potentially push the price to $3,500. SMA50 creates the ultimate intraday support at $3,384.

On the upside, we still need to see a sustainable move above $3,800. It will open up the way towards Wednesday's high at $3,923 and to the critical $4,000. Considering that the Relative Strength Index is reversing to the upside, further recovery towards the above-said goals looks likely; however, we will need a strong catalyst to drive the price above psychological $4,000 barrier.

BTC/USD, 4-hour chart