Bitcoin (BTC) price consolidates ahead of US macro data that could trigger upside breakout

Bitcoin consolidates after upside momentum stalls, but traders are confident that upside breakout will result.

Bitcoin (BTC) remained in a tight range on Sunday as traders awaited the final leg of upside momentum and key US macro data.

Bitcoin traders await calm before the storm

Data from showed a lack of major moves in the BTC price during a period of calm.

Both macroeconomic data in the form of Q1 GDP and the March print of the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index, also known as the Federal Reserve’s “preferred” inflation gauge, were due later in the session.

The day prior, trading resource the Kobeissi Letter meanwhile pointed to consensus implying a negative GDP result.

“All signs point to the first quarter of US GDP contraction since Q2 2022,” it wrote in an X post.

Despite the scope for flash volatility across risk assets, Bitcoin traders were increasingly convinced that BTC price upside would soon return.

“It's going to be decision time for $BTC and $SPX I'd imagine within the next 24 hours,” popular trader Cold Blooded Shiller argued.

Crypto trader, analyst and entrepreneur Michaël van de Poppe agreed.

“Bitcoin nicely consolidating before the next leg upwards should initiate,” he summarized to X followers.

Fellow trader Jelle and others meanwhile eyed a potential upside liquidity grab with asks thickening immediately above spot price, mostly clustering around $96,000.

“Simply moving sideways for a while to prepare for the next leg higher,” he added in a separate X post on the day.

BTC price eyes best April in yearst

April thus looked promising for BTC/USD against the background of lackluster Q1 performance.

Data from monitoring resource CoinGlass showed the pair up 15% month-to-date, the best April gains since 2020.

“Bitcoin is on the cusp of a Monthly Close in the $93300-$96500 Monthly Range,” popular trader and analyst Rekt Capital commented in an X post on the topic.