Bitcoin Price Prediction: BTC/USD glued to $9,150, a spark is needed to set the market on fire

• BTC/USD settles at $9,000 as the recovery stalled.
• The critical long-term support is created by the  weekly SMA50.

BTC/USD is changing hands at $9,150. The first digital coin has barely changed both on a day-to-day basis and since the beginning of Wednesday as the market is paralyzed with uncertainty. BTC/USD has been locked in a tight range since the start of the week amid low trading activity. Currently, BTC is moving within a short-term bearish trend amid high volatility. The market capitalization of the first digital asset settled at $168.8 billion, while its market share is registered at 64.9%.

BTC/USD: Technical picture 

On the intraday charts. BTC/USD is supported by a combination of 1-hour SMA100 and the lower line of the 1-hour Bollinger Band at $9,100. The price dipped to the intraday low of $9.090 during early Asian hours, but quickly returned above the mentioned support area. If it is cleared, the sell-off may be extended towards $9,000. This psychological barrier has been limiting the decline since the previous week. It is still regarded as a pivotal support that separates the coin from an extended decline towards $8,800 (the lowest level of the previous week) and the weekly SMA50 at $8,700. 

BTC/USD 1-hour chart

On the upside, BTC/USD recovery is still capped by the channel resistance of $9,200, which is reinforced by 1-hour SMA200. A sustainable move above this area is needed for the upside to gain traction with the next focus on $9,400. This resistance is created by a confluence of the daily SMA50 and the middle line of the the daily Bollinger Band. Once it is out of the way, the recovery will gather pace with the next focus on  $9,700. Reinforced by the upper line of the daily Bollinger Band, this barrier separates BTC from $9,800 that capped the upside momentum for the most part of the previous month. 

BTC/USD daily chart

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