Strong US Jobs Data Fails to Pull Bitcoin Lower: Here’s What’s Next

• Bitcoin, along with select altcoins, have seen a strong bullish undercurrent despite the positive U.S. jobs data for January.
• Institutional traders appear to be sitting on the sidelines amidst the current crypto bear market.
• Technical analysis of top 10 cryptocurrencies shows that Bitcoin and some altcoins may witness profit booking in the near future.

Strong Bullish Undercurrent

Rakesh Upadhyay’s price analysis suggests that Bitcoin and select altcoins are showing strength despite the release of positive U.S. employment data for January, indicating a strong bullish undercurrent in the market. Markets expect that the Federal Reserve will slow down its rate hikes as inflation has started cooling down and there is even speculation of a rate cut by the end of 2023.

Institutional Traders Sitting Out?

A survey conducted by JPMorgan suggests that institutional traders have become wary of trading crypto/digital coins this year due to the current bear market conditions. 72% of institutional traders said they do not plan to trade crypto/digital coins in 2023 while only 14% showed an inclination to trade this year.

Price Analysis

BTC/USDT: Bulls pushed up prices above $24,000 on Feb 2 but could not sustain higher levels afterwards; rising moving averages and RSI indicate path of least resistance is to upside; if price turns up from current level or $22,800 then it could surge to $25,000; first sign of weakness will be break and close below 20-day exponential moving average ($22,279).

ETH/USDT: Buyers propelled Ether past $1,620 but failed to maintain momentum; if bulls push ETH above $1,660 it could rise to $1,740-$1,750 zone; on dips, support at 20-day EMA at $1,545 is likely to act as a strong base; if bears sink ETH below this level then dip towards $1,450 is possible .

BNB/USDT: Binance coin witnessed an uptick after breaking out from an inverse head & shoulders pattern; if buyers manage to propel BNB above upper band at $253 then rally towards ath at $290 can be expected; on downside key support lies at 50-day SMA ($212); break below this level could drag BNB towards 50-week SMA ($176).

XRP/USDT: XRP broke out from symmetrical triangle pattern which is usually a continuation setup; if bulls thrust XRP above resistance line at 0.434 then move towards 0.50 followed by 0.55 can be expected; conversely if bears sink XRP below 0.376 then dip towards 020-$0.25 zone can be anticipated .

Conclusion

The recent economic data releases combined with technical analysis suggest that profits may soon be booked for Bitcoin and select altcoins such as Ethereum (ETH), Binance Coin (BNB) and Ripple (XRP). Whether these gains will hold depends heavily on upcoming economic news releases like Consumer Price Index print later this month..