Crypto Markets Unfazed by Latest ETF Withdrawal

The cryptocurrency markets remain unfazed after an ETF withdrawal announcement on Wednesday did little to affect bitcoin’s price.

The Cboe BZX exchange has withdrawn a proposed rule change that would have, if approved, paved the way for an ever-elusive bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) backed by VanEck and SolidX.

The announcement, however, did little to spur investors into selling, leaving others to speculate that the events of the day were already priced in days before.

Daily chart

The daily chart shows stagnation for the entire trading session with a small $80 rangebound candlestick providing evidence of little interest in the bitcoin and crypto market in the last 24 hours.

Total growing volume has dropped significantly in recent weeks and is typically quite low during unsettled periods. Low volume also reflects a lack of confidence that usually leads to long periods of consolidation and sideways momentum, similar to the one bitcoin is currently experiencing after a disappointing start to 2019.

The relative strength index (RSI), used to judge the momentum of a given trend, dipped on the news and is resting in bearish territory below the RSI resistance at 54.9.

An $800 price range has also trapped momentum for a period of 36 days now, raising concerns about BTC's ability to hold current price levels for any sustainable period and possibly seeing another sell-off toward $3,000.

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• The crypto markets appear unfazed by the announcement of the Cboe ETF withdrawal.
• Total volume has been falling week-to-week, with the exception of Dec. 10 and Dec. 31, underscoring the current period of consolidation.
• Price action has been trapped within an $800 range while other relatable news appears to have been having little impact on price as of late.

Disclosure: The author holds no cryptocurrency at the time of writing.

ETF

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