Bitcoin price analysis: BTC/USD settles above $9,800, vulnerable to new losses

• BTC/USD has recovered from the intraday low, but bearish sentiments are still strong.
• The daily RSI supports the short-term bearish scenario.

Bitcoin (BTC) managed to recover above $9,800 after a bloody crash towards $9.600 during early Asian hours. At the time of writing, the first digital asset is changing hands at $9,860, down 3.5% on a day-on-day basis. Bitcoin’s sell-off triggered a carnage on the cryptocurrency market as all major altcoins collapsed from the recent highs. Bitcoin’s market dominance settled at 67.4%.

Bitcoin lost over $400 and crashed below $10,000 in a matter of minutes during early Asian hours amid excessively high volatility. As the coin dropped by more than 5%, the short-term market players had to liquidate their positions, which exacerbated the decline. Thus, several long positions to the tune of $150 million were closed on the leading exchange for cryptocurrency derivatives BitMEX. 

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Bitcoin's technical picture

Looking technically, BTC/USD has returned inside the Bollinger Band on a daily chart. $10,000 has turned into a strong resistance that may limit Bitcoin’s recovery in the short-run. Meanwhile, we will need to see a sustainable move above this handle for the upside to gain traction with the next focus on $10,250 ( the middle line of a Bollinger Band on a daily chart). A strong barrier awaits us on approach to $10,500. It is created by a combination of SMA50 (Simple Moving Average) and SMA100 on a daily chart.

On the downside, a move below $9,750 ( the lower line of one-day Bollinger Band) will trigger more sell-off and push the price towards intraday lows of $9,600. This support is followed by $9,300, which is the lowest level from August 30. 

The downward-looking RSI (Relative Strength Index) on a daily chart implies that the bearish trend may gain traction.

BTC/USD, daily chart

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