Katie Stockton says Bitcoin may not see a major relief rally

Bitcoin (BTC) price rose as much as 8% in 24 hours to top $24,287 on crypto exchange Coinbase, its highest price in over a month.

The upside came as a broader market rally saw most cryptocurrencies post significant gains to erase recent losses, with Ethereum (ETH) seeing the most gains at the top of the charts with over 50% in gains in a little over a week.

BTC/USD daily chart showing Bitcoin’s jump to $24,287 on Coinbase. Source: TradingView

Analyst says rally likely to fade near current levels

BTC has shed some of the gains and currently trades around $23,500. But can it kick on and see a major breakout short term?

Katie Stockton, co-founder Fairlead Strategies founder, told CNBC’s ‘Squawk Box’ in an interview that while the world’s largest cryptocurrency had seen as strong rally over the past few days, this looked more like  sharp bear market rally than one likely to sustain into a major relief rally.

“If you do look at past bear market cycles, we’ve seen some massive relief rallies,” she noted, highlighting the +20% gains seen in some assets. However, she feels that despite the surge, indications are that this isn’t going to evolve into a “major relief rally.”

Stockton said the overall market’s outlook remains vulnerable to a downside, noting the market is “challenged” amid an oversold volatility reading and overbought mega cap (stocks) ahead of earnings reports.

According to the analyst, the current upside is more likely to fade near levels reached so far, with potential signals for a sustained upward move including a breakout above $25k and improvement in momentum gauges.