Bitcoin has proven to be one of the best-performing assets, rising more than 130% since the beginning of the year. Despite a decline in volume at the end of the first quarter, the trend remained upward as of press time. However, BTC price now looks set to rise and hit the important resistance of $40,000. Meanwhile, the Star cryptocurrency must overcome significant obstacles, without which it may not be possible to achieve the above levels.
In the short term, BTC price enters a pivotal resistance area between $38,178 and $38,427, trading within an ascending triangle. There has been a bounce from the lower diagonal support, with the price remaining at this level, indicating that a breakout is imminent. However, RSI is rising, meaning prices will maintain a healthy upward trend, and MACD indicates buying pressure is building.
BTC price is expected to hover around the resistance zone for some time before triggering a healthy uptrend and reaching $40,000. Before that, the price will have to face several important resistance levels. According to data from on-chain platform Coinglass, nearly $2 million worth of Bitcoin shorts have been liquidated at about $38,700.
Therefore, a price rise to these levels could trigger a massive liquidation in short selling, pushing the price further above $39,000. Above this level, there is no strong resistance until $40,000, so a smooth ride above this level could be possible. However, just below this level there is strong resistance around $39,700, which has not been visited since May 2022.
This can be considered a turning point where the price breaks out of these levels and sets the stage for an uptrend. Additionally, spot Bitcoin ETFs and the Bitcoin halving could be catalysts for a nice bullish start to new highs.