BTC price sets new 19-month high in ‘choreographed’ Bitcoin whale move

Bitcoin  returned above $42,000 on Dec. 5 as analysis remained suspicious of market manipulation.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: TradingView

Analysis: New Bitcoin bids are not “organic”

Data from  Cointelegraph Markets Pro  and  TradingView  showed a BTC price rebound taking BTC/USD to highs of $42,498 on Bitstamp.

These beat the  19-month peak  set the day prior, with retracements being short-lived amid a general atmosphere of excitement throughout crypto.

As Bitcoin continued to reclaim ground lost in mid-2022, however, warnings over the rally’s sustainability continued to flow in. These centered on the behavior of large-volume traders, also known as whales.

In a  dedicated thread  about the phenomenon on X (formerly Twitter), trading resource Material Indicators explained that from order book liquidity cues, it appeared that these traders could be deliberately coordinating higher prices in order to sell into an uptrend with minimal slippage.

The more liquidity available near the intended selling point, the better value a major sell-off would bring.

“We saw the exact game played over the wknd with a $50M buy wall at $35k, and it often works. Now we have $50M stacked at $38.5k,” Material Indicators noted, calling current order book action a “strategically choreographed distribution game.”

The analysis reasoned that a return to $38,500 was unlikely, but that new blocks of bid liquidity — including one at $41,500 — were not “organic.”

That said, upside continuation could easily form the norm into next year, as a  sense of anticipation  over both macroeconomic changes and a United States approval of its first Bitcoin spot price exchange-traded fund (ETF) sets the tone.

“With BTC liquidity strategically moving around the game board we are likely to see this rally extend,” Material Indicators forecast.

“Optimism around the Dec FED rate decision and Jan ETF decision can push things higher and fuel euphoria, so be prepared for what comes after that.”

BTC/USDT order book liquidity data. Source: Material Indicators/X

$48,000 forms next optimistic BTC price target

Other market commentators eyed similarly bullish short-term BTC price signals.

Popular trader Daan Crypto Trades noted declining open interest during the consolidation phase, which preceded the day’s Wall Street open.

For trader, analyst and podcast host Scott Melker, meanwhile, the four-hour chart said it all.

“Bitcoin consistently breaks above ‘bearish’ ascending patterns in a bull market. And this one is currently being retested as support,” part of his X commentary on an accompanying graphic.

BTC/USD chart with breakout and support retest. Source: Scott Melker/X

Zooming out further, the popular social media commentator known as Moustache saw no reason for the current bull market to diverge from previous ones in terms of BTC price patterns.

“$48,000 is inevitable. If this is broken, I even see ~$60,000 for Bitcoin in the near future,” he  argued  alongside a chart showing price phases divided into waves.

“In the past, BTC has always returned to wave (B). Why should it be different this time?”

BTC/USD annotated chart. Source: Moustache/X