First Mover Asia: Bitcoin finds firm footing above $42k

Investors continue to monitor the escalating tensions on the Ukrainian border as well as this week's Producer Price Index report.

Good morning. Here’s what’s happening:

Market moves: Bitcoin stabilized above $42,000, although investors continued to monitor tensions on the Ukraine border and inflationary data.

Technician's take: BTC upside appears limited as buyers lose momentum.

Prices

Bitcoin (BTC): $42,727 +1.1%

Ether (ETH): $2,941 +2.1%

Top Gainers

Top Losers

Markets

S&P 500: 4,401 -0.3%

DJ IA: 34,566 -0.4%

Nasdaq: 13,790

Gold: $1,871 +0.7%

Market moves

After dropping sharply Friday, bitcoin found firm footing in the $42,000 to $43,000 range during U.S. trading hours as investors continued to hold their breath about a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine, particularly the implications for the global energy supply.

At the time of publication, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization was trading just below $42,800, up slightly over the last 24 hours. Ether, the second-largest crypto by market cap, was trading at above $2,900, up more than 2% over the the same time period. Major altcoins were mostly in the red. Trading was light.

Crypto's performance largely mirrored prices on major equity exchanges. The tech-focused Nasdaq composite was flat, the first trading day after it dropped more than 2% on Friday. The S&P 500 and DJIA were off slightly.

Oi l prices have risen to $90 a barrel, their highest level since 2014, and a war that could mean sanctions on Russian production could send the price to over $100, a number of analysts have predicted. Natural gas prices jumped 6% on. Monday. "The possibility of war between Ukraine and Russia has put oil prices on a one-way road higher," wrote Edward Moya, senior market analyst for The Americas OANDA.

Moya noted that crypto prices "appears to be stabilizing," despite rising U.S. Treasury bond yields. "Bitcoin has weathered the regulatory storm and China [mining] exit," Moya said. "There's a strong belief that bitcoin is going to do well in a gradually increasing Treasury yield environment.

If tensions on the Ukrainian border decrease in the days ahead, Moya said investors will "focus on U.S. economic data." He said that Tuesday's Producer Price Index (PPI) report, the average change in the selling prices received by domestic producers for their goods and services, will "be closely watched" as a window on inflationary trends.

Technician's take

Bitcoin daily price chart shows nearby resistance (Damanick Dantes/CoinDesk, TradingView)

Bitcoin (BTC) was roughly flat over the weekend as price momentum continued to slow.

The cryptocurrency remains stuck below the $46,000 resistance level, although lower support at $35,000 and $40,000 could stabilize pullbacks over the short term.

The 50-day moving average was unable to demonstrate a positive slope over the past week, indicating continued selling strength. Indicators also approached overbought territory, which typically precede pullbacks in price, consistent with the downtrend since November.

For now, BTC upside appears to be limited as momentum signals remain negative on weekly and monthly charts.

Bitcoin was trading around $42,000 at press time and is down 3% over the past week.

Important events

Australia Housing Industry Association new home sales (Jan. MoM)

12:30 p.m. HKT/SGT (4:30 a.m. UTC): Japan capacity utilization (Dec. MoM)

12:30 p.m. HKT/SGT (4:30 a.m. UTC): Japan industrial production (Jan. MoM/YoY)

4 p.m. HKT/SGT (8 a.m. UTC): Spain consumer price index (Jan. MoM/YoY)

6 p.m. HKT/SGT (10 a.m. UTC): Eurostat employment change (Q4/QoQ/YoY preliminary)