Bitcoin ( BTC ) shed more than 2% on Sep. 1 as an “out of hours” monthly close turned ugly for bulls.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: TradingView

BTC price stares down traditionally “red” September

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC price weakness producing lows of $57,230 on Bitstamp — a level last seen on Aug. 16.

Coming midway through a weekend, less liquid conditions made for a grim monthly close, with buyers unable to prevent further losses later.

Bitcoin thus finished August down 8.6%, below its average of 1.75% gains, per data from monitoring resource CoinGlass . Its figures likewise reveal that September is historically a poor month for BTC/USD, with average losses totaling 4.5%.

BTC/USD monthly returns (screenshot). Source: CoinGlass

“Local level taking a beating, wouldn't be surprised if it gives way eventually,” popular trader Crypto Chase wrote in part of an X post about short-timeframe market activity.

“Bulls want to see 55.5-56.5K hold or decisive PA above 61K~. Losing 55K likely means 51K~.”


BTC/USDT per chart. Source: Crypto Chase/X

Fellow trader Exitpump noted “aggressive” short selling at the day’s local lows, with the weekly close now hours away.

Binance BTC/USDT futures market data. Source: Exitpump/X

“Bitcoin continues to retest the Channel Bottom,” trader and analyst Rekt Capital continued while analyzing the weekly chart.

“Bitcoin needs to Weekly Close above $58450 to confirm the Channel bottom (black) as support. Retest is still in progress.”

BTC/USD 1-week chart. Source: Rekt Capital/X

Short squeeze odds target $61,300

CoinGlass liquidity data meanwhile furthered the bearish narrative, with price slicing through layer after layer in its journey downward over the last week of August.

Related: Bitcoin analysis warns BTC price risks 2023 rerun when stocks shed 10%

BTC liquidation heatmap (screenshot). Source: CoinGlass

Commenting, popular trader CrypNuevo suggested that both upside and downside liquidity hunts could come this week.

“In a trading perspective, I'm favoring longs so I'd prefer seeing the move down first to hit the liquidations and fill the wick at $56.6k where I could long,” he wrote in part of an X thread.

“So I'm keeping a long order at that $56.6k level on Sunday & Monday in case we see a false move at the start of the week.”

CrypNuevo gave the target for a potential upside liquidity grab as $61,300.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.