Bitcoin Price Must Now Break $9.5K to Prove 'Xi Pump' Wasn't a Fluke

Bitcoin price is currently locked in a battle to stay above the descending channel and have another run at the recent high at $10,540.

Was the "Xi pump" a fluke? As Bitcoin fights to stay above this all-important line, traders are likely beginning to wonder whether or not last week's explosive pump to $10,540 was simply a one-off driven by Chinese President Xi Jinping's call for China to accelerate the development of blockchain technology.

Today's move did bring Bitcoin above the descending channel but at the time of writing a higher was not achieved and the digital asset is still posting lower highs and lower lows.

Bitcoin remains above the 200-daily moving average but a drop below $8,650 would change this status and currently, the 50-DMA continues to curl away from the 200-DMA, avoiding the dreaded 'death cross'.

On the 4-hour time frame, we can see Bitcoin trading within a narrowing wedge and the Bollinger Bands are tightening as this morning's move to $9,433 brought price above the 20-MA but failed to extend past the upper arm.

Today's move also brought the price above the 12 and 26 EMA but failure to hold above $9,200 will likely drop the price back to the base of the wedge it trades above now.

Bitcoin's price action is also following a similar pattern of dropping below the descending channel trendline then pumping above the descending trendline of the wedge.

Zooming out to the weekly timeframe shows Bitcoin above the multi-month descending channel and on the verge of changing the trend.

The close at $9,540 did not produce a weekly higher high but Bitcoin rides above the 20-WMA and the MACD line has flattened as the histogram flipped pink off the strength of the most recent moves.

Bitcoin does not immediately need to gain above $10,540, but a pattern of higher highs and higher lows needs to occur on the daily and weekly time frame to set up an eventual overtaking of the local high.