As Bitcoin's ancient multi-year barrier level returns with a fury, it feels like 2018 all over again.
On June 19, Bitcoin (BTC) sought to retake $20,000 as support as bulls faced a $7,000 weekly red candle.
$16,000 is being considered for a possible next step.
According to Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView data, BTC/USD rose from a low of $17,592 on Bitstamp before being strongly rejected at $20,000.
Hodlers had a bad weekend as the largest cryptocurrency sank to levels not seen since November 2020 due to low liquidity trading circumstances.
While the market recovered some of its losses, a feeling of déjà vu dominated the day. $20,000 had resurfaced as barrier, having served as an all-time high for Bitcoin from December 2017 to December 2020.
There's a first first everything. This is the first time Bitcoin has traded below prior cycle highs. I think it's fair to say things are different now.
— Charles Edwards (@caprioleio) June 18, 2022
It was also the first time BTC/USD has fallen below the all-time high of a prior halving cycle.
While some panicked, experienced market players remained generally aware of recent price behavior, which nevertheless conformed to previous bear market trends.
"To put things in perspective, a Bitcoin drop of 74% right now is nothing out of the ordinary," noted market observer Holger Zschaepitz.
"In history, there have already been 4 collapses in which the leading cryptocurrency went from peak to trough by >80%."
In terms of what lies ahead, $17,000 has been identified as a possible short-term aim. As prominent Twitter account Credible Crypto pointed out, a brief squeeze higher was not on the program.
Looks like no squeeze first. Well then, let's rip the bandaid off and get this over with! https://t.co/xliurgtPrO
— CrediBULL Crypto (@CredibleCrypto) June 18, 2022
Meanwhile, another trader and researcher Rekt Capital stated that Bitcoin's 200-week moving average (MA), a crucial support line in bad markets, was still operational.
No matter how much of an extreme time this seems to be for #BTC
— Rekt Capital (@rektcapital) June 19, 2022
Historically $BTC tends to wick between -14% to -28% below the 200-week MA
BTC has wicked -21% below the 200 MA so far, still within the historical range & not out of the ordinary in that respect#Crypto #Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/cJm5A9yYYO
Coins are being sold at a historic loss by sellers.
However, at roughly $7,000, the week's red candle was poised to be one of the biggest in Bitcoin's history in currency terms.
According to data from the on-chain monitoring tool Coinglass, June 2022 is shaping up to be the worst on record, surpassing even 2013.
The last three consecutive days have been the largest USD denominated Realized Loss in #Bitcoin history.
— glassnode (@glassnode) June 19, 2022
Over $7.325B in $BTC losses have been locked in by investors spending coins that were accumulated at higher prices.
A thread exploring this in more detail 🧵
1/9 pic.twitter.com/O7DjSK2rEQ
According to data from on-chain analytics startup Glassnode, more BTC was sold at a loss in the three days leading up to June 19 than at any previous time in history.
Additional worries centered on the financial viability of Bitcoin miners. Not everyone, however, thought that network participants were feeling the strain to the point of submission.
