Crypto tumble overshadows bitcoin’s bullish bid for ‘golden cross,’ amid China contagion fear

However, the recent pullback in bitcoin, and crypto more broadly, could undercut positive momentum for the digital asset. A death cross in bitcoin, when the 50-day falls below the long-term average, occurred back in late July (see attached chart), bitcoin has been steadily grinding higher, of late.

Crosses aren’t necessarily good market-timing indicators, as they are well telegraphed, but they can help put an asset’s move into perspective.

“Bitcoin and Ethereum have started the week on the back foot and the massive bullish signal that traders were focused on, the golden cross, seems to have lost its luster,” wrote Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at AvaTrade, in a Monday note.

The slump in crypto had shaved some $214 billion from the crypto market, data from CoinMarketCap.com show. The moves also comes as futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -2.09% YM00, -2.06%, those for the S&P 500 index SPX, -2.13% ES00, -2.08% and the Nasdaq-100 NQ00, -2.57% COMP, -2.61% were declining as investors fretted about potential market contagion from troubled China property developer Evergrande 3333, -10.24%.

“Crypto traders are certainly going to wake up to a rough day and it is likely that Bitcoin price may actually touch the early 40K price level now as the price has failed to keep its upward momentum,” wrote Aslam.

Elsewhere in crypto, Ether ETHUSD, -7.51%, on the Ethereum blockchain, was changing hands at $3,050.30, down nearly 10% Monday and off over 20% from its recent peak earlier this month.