Bitcoin reaches weekly high near $84,500 as crypto market rebounds

Bitcoin reached a weekly high near $84,500 on Wednesday, gaining 2.5% over 24 hours. The recovery followed a mid-October decline that took Bitcoin below $80,000. Total cryptocurrency market capitalization increased 2.2% to $2.9 trillion.

Ethereum advanced 2.5% to $2,504. Solana increased 2.2% to $108.18. BNB gained 2% to $749. XRP outperformed other large-cap cryptocurrencies with a 4.1% increase to $1.37. Zcash climbed 11.2% to $1,332. Zcash's seven-day gain reached 15.3%.

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index reached a neutral reading of 55, three points above yesterday, on a scale from 0 for extreme fear to 100 for extreme greed. Traders appear to have stopped panicking without yet aggressively pursuing higher prices.

Brent crude traded near $108 a barrel on Wednesday after ranging between $97 and $112 this month. Brent near $108 and a 5.09% yield on 10-year Treasury debt contributed to October's selloff, although both eased slightly on Wednesday. The war with Iran continues to fuel concerns about oil supplies. Washington rejected Iran's proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in late September.

Higher oil prices contribute to inflation, linking energy costs to cryptocurrency markets. U.S. consumer prices increased 3.7% year over year in September, exceeding economists' 3.6% forecast and August's 3.4% increase. Higher inflation raises Treasury yields, and government bonds yielding more than 5% with almost no default risk attract money away from stocks and cryptocurrencies. Higher interest rates also increase borrowing costs for leveraged trades.

The Federal Reserve's benchmark interest rate stands between 3.75% and 4% following a September increase. CME FedWatch assigns approximately an eight-in-ten probability to unchanged rates at the October 28 meeting. Markets strongly expect an interest-rate increase on December 9.

Bitcoin opened Wednesday's daily candle at $82,928.80 and reached $84,726.28, representing a 1.94% candle gain. Bitcoin has recovered about 6% from this month's low near $79,711. Bitcoin is moving toward resistance at $87,422.70.

Bitcoin's preceding rally extended from $62,763 to September's peak of $87,422.70. That advance established strong support at $81,603. Bitcoin fell below $81,603 during October's decline but has regained that level and remains in the upper portion of the rebound.

Bitcoin's 50-day exponential moving average is near $80,782, above the 200-day moving average of approximately $76,084, a conventional indication of an uptrend. Bitcoin trades 4.6% above the shorter moving average. The Relative Strength Index reads 58.5 on a 0-to-100 scale, indicating an advantage for buyers above 50 without reaching the overbought threshold of 70.

The bullish scenario requires a daily close above $84,726, ideally accompanied by the trend-strength indicator ADX rising above 25. That outcome would create potential targets near $86,090 and then $87,422.70. A failure to advance beyond $84,726 would leave Bitcoin within the approximately $79,700 to $87,400 range maintained since late September, consistent with ADX below 20.

Traders on Myriad assign a 31% probability to Bitcoin reaching $87,500 in October, down from 45% on October 12. Myriad traders price the probability of Bitcoin reaching $90,000 at 18%. Decrypt's parent company, Dastan, built Myriad.

The bearish scenario begins with a daily close below $81,603. That outcome would expose the 50-day exponential moving average at $80,782, followed by October's low near $79,711 and the 200-day exponential moving average at $76,084.