Bitcoin defends its price above $20k

The cryptocurrency market has lost nearly $100 billion over the past 24 hours as the bearish trend continues.

The bear market is here, and it is in full motion. The cryptocurrency market has lost more than $2 trillion since the all-time high of $3 trillion was achieved in November 2022.

At press time, the total market cap stands below the $900 billion region. Bitcoin and the other major cryptocurrencies have recorded massive losses over the past few days.

At press time, Bitcoin is trading above the $21k resistance level, down by more than 4% in the last 24 hours.

The cryptocurrency’s performance has improved as it slightly dropped below the $21k level a few hours ago.

Bitcoin’s total market cap has dropped below the $500 billion mark for the first time this year. In November, Bitcoin’s total market cap rose to an all-time high above $1 trillion.

However, the leading cryptocurrency has lost more than 65% of its value since then.

Key levels to watch

The BTC/USD 4-hour chart is extremely bearish as Bitcoin has been underperforming in recent days. The technical indicators show that Bitcoin could record further losses in the short term.

The MACD line is within the negative territory, indicating an extreme bearish condition. The 14-day relative strength index of 26 shows that Bitcoin is currently oversold.

At press time, Bitcoin is trading around $21,183. If the bearish sentiment grows stronger, Bitcoin could retest the $20k support again before the end of the day. However, the leading cryptocurrency should steer clear of the sub $19,300 support level in the short term.

On the flip side, the bulls could mount a recovery challenge and push Bitcoin past the $22k resistance level over the next few hours. However, Bitcoin could find it tough to surge past the second resistance level at $24,012 before the end of the day.