Bitcoin price failed again to clear the $18,800 resistance against the US Dollar. BTC is trading in a range and it could correct lower sharply if there is a break below $18,200.

• Bitcoin is still trading well below the key resistance area near the $18,700 and $18,800 levels.
• The price is now below $18,500 and the 100 hourly simple moving average.
• There is a key contracting triangle forming with resistance near $18,480 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).
• The pair could decline sharply if there is a clear break below $18,200 and $18,050.

Bitcoin Price is Showing a Few Bearish Signs

There was another attempt by bitcoin price to clear the $18,700 and $18,800 resistance levels. However, BTC bulls failed to gain strength, resulting in a fresh decline below the $18,600 level.

The price even broke the $18,500 level and settled below the 100 hourly simple moving average. Conversely, there were strong bullish moves in Ethereum and ripple, breaking the $600 and $0.60 resistance respectively.

Bitcoin price traded as low as $18,160 and it is currently consolidating in a range. There was a break above the $18,250 level. It even traded above the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the recent drop from the $18,782 high to $18,160 low.

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The price is now facing a strong resistance near the $18,450 level and the 100 hourly simple moving average. There is also a key contracting triangle forming with resistance near $18,480 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair. The triangle resistance is close to the 50% Fib retracement level of the recent drop from the $18,782 high to $18,160 low. If there is an upside break above $18,500, the price could make another attempt to clear the $18,700 and $18,800 resistance levels.

Downside Break in BTC?

If bitcoin fails to clear the $18,500 resistance, there is a risk of a downside break. An initial support is near the triangle lower trend line at $18,280. A clear break below the triangle support might lead the price towards the $18,160 swing low. In the stated case, there is even a risk of more losses below the $18,000 support level in the coming sessions. Technical indicators: Hourly MACD – The MACD is slowly losing momentum in the bearish zone. Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for BTC/USD is currently just below the 50 level. Major Support Levels – $18,280, followed by $18,160. Major Resistance Levels – $18,500, $18,700 and $18,800.