Bitcoin dominance hits 3-month high as ‘hammered’ altcoins risk dive

Bitcoin price action wobbles but recovers without new lower lows, while altcoins suffer, with traders eyeing potential short opportunities.

Bitcoin (BTC) ground higher on Oct. 10 after the start of legacy market trading saw “de-risking” take over.

Bitcoin’s price preserves weekly support

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC price stability returning ahead of the Wall Street open.

Bitcoin bulls had lost their footing as the week began, with BTC/USD heading to $27,300 before reversing to trade near $27,700 at the time of writing.

“Overall there’s been a lot of market de-risking into $27.4K—$27.3K,” popular trader Skew wrote in part of X analysis at the time.

“Important area now because losing that level would take prices back to 1W demand. More importantly, around here into tomorrow buyers need to establish price control for a move higher.”

Continuing on the day, Skew noted that derivatives traders controlled trajectory for the time being.

“Better to see what spot market wants later,” he advised.

$BTC
as you can see price is very much correlated to perp involvement

~ positions chasing the market

Better to see what spot market wants later https://t.co/VH46ZsLRbO pic.twitter.com/S3GScvPDtc

— Skew Δ (@52kskew) October 10, 2023

Some market participants were broadly optimistic, among them Michaël van de Poppe, founder and CEO of trading firm MN Trading.

In his latest X post, van de Poppe described altcoins as being “hammered” by sell pressure, while Bitcoin held support.

“If Bitcoin is able to break back above $28,000, the thesis to $35,000–40,000 might become real,” he argued.

A previous post predicted that “most likely the path towards $30K is going to start from here,” with an accompanying chart showing relevant resistance levels.

Altcoins bear brunt of crypto cold feet

Meanwhile, against altcoins, the picture remains in Bitcoin’s favor, data showed.

Related: War, CPI and $28K BTC price — 5 things to know in Bitcoin this week

Bitcoin’s share of the overall crypto market cap hit 51.35% on Oct. 9, marking its highest levels since mid-July.

“A lot of Altcoins looking like they are breaking major support zones and bringing us some juicy short entries,” popular trader Crypto Tony continued on the topic.

On Bitcoin, Crypto Tony flagged $27,200 as the level to hold to avoid going short on BTC.

$BTC / $USD – Update #Bitcoin continues to range as we bounced off the support zone yesterday. I remain long until we lose $27,200, which then i will look to short down pic.twitter.com/rLyokRPqWp

— Crypto Tony (@CryptoTony__) October 10, 2023

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.