December 17 BTC Technical Market Analysis
On Tuesday, Bitcoin entered a sideways-to-upward consolidation phase following a downside liquidity sweep near the 87,000 level during early trading hours. After this move, price action on the daily timeframe began compressing, indicating balance after volatility expansion.
On the 1-hour chart, BTC printed two impulsive bullish candles, followed by a corrective retracement—consistent with a bullish continuation structure rather than trend exhaustion. Importantly, price remains above the 87,400 intra-day support, preserving the short-term bullish bias.
From a volatility perspective, the Bollinger Bands show the basis (20-period MA) and upper band trending higher, confirming positive directional momentum. The current pullback aligns with a mean-reversion move toward the Bollinger basis, suggesting accumulation rather than distribution.
Market structure remains constructive:
Higher lows are intact on lower timeframes
No bearish market structure shift has been confirmed
Volume behavior supports controlled pullback, not aggressive selling
Technical Trade Plan
Long interest: 86,500–87,000 demand zone (confluence of prior support and volatility mean)
Invalidation: Sustained acceptance below 86,200
Targets:
First resistance: 88,500
Extension target: 89,000
Execution should be signal-based, waiting for confirmation such as bullish engulfing candles, momentum divergence resolution, or volume expansion—rather than reacting to isolated candlestick patterns.
Macro Considerations
The market remains sensitive to Federal Reserve policy guidance, particularly expectations around interest rates and liquidity conditions. Macro-driven volatility could override short-term technical structures, so risk management remains essential
