Bitcoin (BTC) Continues to Trend Upward, Forming Higher Highs and Higher Lows within an Ascending Consolidation Channel

Despite the retracement, the largest cryptocurrency continues to trend upward, forming higher highs and higher lows within an ascending consolidation channel.

output: Bitcoin prices pulled back on Monday after notching a 14-month high, with traders assessing new outflows from a major cryptocurrency fund and a buildup of bullish bets in the options market.

Bitcoin dropped around 2.2% over the past 24 hours to $90,000 by 08:15 ET (12:15 GMT). The cryptocurrency had climbed to $92,788 on Monday, levels last seen in January 2022, before meeting resistance.

Despite the retracement, the world’s largest cryptocurrency is still largely trading in an upward trend, forming higher highs and higher lows within an ascending consolidation channel, while its market dominance rose above 64%.

There’s also a bullish bias in the options market, with Deribit data showing a heavy concentration of call open interest above $100,000.

There’s a large cluster of May 30 expiry call options at the $110,000, $115,000 and $120,000 strike prices, which together amount to $8 billion in notional value. Call options give holders the right to buy BTC at a specific price, and are typically used by traders to bet that the price will rise to or above that level.

Another sign of strong demand comes from Glassnode data showing widespread accumulation across all wallet cohorts - from holders of less than 1 BTC to over 10,000 BTC. The accumulation trend score, which measures the rate at which coins are flowing into specific balance tiers, rose to 0.87; the maximum value is 1.

But in a note of caution, the U.S. 30-year Treasury yield topped 5% as Moody’s Ratings downgraded the credit rating of the U.S. to Aa1 from Aaa, the top tier, citing worsening government finances and the outlook for weak governance over the next 12 to 18 months.

The last time the 30-year yield rose that high, on April 9, bitcoin dropped to a monthly low of $75,000.

The U.K. now holds the second-largest amount of U.S. debt, in a ranking where China dropped a place to third, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Treasury.

Also, Tether’s U.S. Treasury holdings are poised to surpass Germany’s, potentially placing the firm among the top 20 foreign holders of U.S. debt.

But at a time when the U.S. is actively seeking buyers for its bonds, no investor may be more critical than the issuer of the largest stablecoin.