Bitcoin price broke its consolidation phase as investors continued to worry about the rising interest in the US continue. The BTC/USD price crashed to a low of $18,600, which was the lowest level since September 22nd of this year. It has crashed by more than 60% this year.
Crypto crash continues
Bitcoin price has been in a tight range in the past few weeks as investors wait for a new catalyst. During this time, it hovered between the important support at $19,000 and resistance point at $20,000.
This consolidation ended on Thursday as investors focus on the latest Federal Reserve minutes data. The minutes showed that Fed officials were concerned about high inflation. As a result, officials warned that the bank will continue hiking interest rates.
Economists expect that the Fed will hike interest rates by 0.75% in the upcoming meeting in November. They also expect that the bank will increase interest rates by 0.50% in December. As a result, there is a likelihood that the official cash rate will end the year at over 4%.
The next key catalyst for the Bitcoin price will be the upcoming US consumer price index (CPI) data. Economists expect that the headline CPI rose by 8.1% in September. Core inflation, which excludes the volatile food and energy products, rose by 6.5% during the month.
If analysts are correct, the headline and core inflation will be much higher than the Fed’s target of 2.0%. Therefore, if the estimate is correct, the Fed will likely continue hiking interest rates in the coming months.
Bitcoin price also crashed as the fear and greed index crashed to the extreme fear level. At the same time, the VIX index, which measures volatility, rose to a high of $33. This is a sign that investors are getting more fearful.
In addition, cryptocurrencies like Litecoin, MATIC, JasmyCoin, and Polkadot also crashed.
Bitcoin price forecast
The four-hour chart shows that the BTC price has been in a strong bearish trend in the past few days. It has dropped from a high of $20,500 to a low of $18,581. The coin moved below the lower side of the ascending channel shown in black. It is also below the 25-day and 50-day moving averages.
Therefore, there is a likelihood that Bitcoin price will continue falling as sellers target the next key support level at $15,000.
