Bitcoin (BTC) attempted to reclaim $20,000 as support on June 19 as bulls faced a $7,000 weekly red candle.
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD rising from lows of $17,592 on Bitstamp before being firmly rejected at $20,000.
Low-liquidity trading conditions had made for a grim weekend for hodlers as the largest cryptocurrency fell to levels not seen since November 2020.
While recovering some losses, a sense of deja vu pervaded the market on the day. $20,000 had returned as resistance, this having formed an all-time high for Bitcoin for three years from December 2017 to December 2020.
It was also the first time that BTC/USD had retreated under a previous halving cycle's all-time high.
There's a first first everything. This is the first time Bitcoin has traded below prior cycle highs. I think it's fair to say things are different now.
While some panicked, however, seasoned market participants remained broadly understanding of recent price action, which still corresponded with historical bear market patterns.
"To put things into perspective: A Bitcoin crash of 74% as at present is nothing unusual," markets commentator Holger Zschaepitz acknowledged.
In terms of what could like ahead, attention focused on $17,000 as a potential short-term target. A short squeeze higher, as popular Twitter account Credible Crypto noted, was not on the menu.
Looks like no squeeze first. Well then, let's rip the bandaid off and get this over with! https://t.co/xliurgtPrO
Fellow trader and analyst Rekt Capital meanwhile added that Bitcoin's 200-week moving average (MA), a key support line in bear markets, was still functioning as before.
No matter how much of an extreme time this seems to be for #BTC Historically $BTC tends
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