Bitcoin forming 'massive' bullish wedge pattern as trader eyes $85K

Bitcoin's price is forming a bullish wedge pattern while lingering near its 2021 all-time highs, with hopeful traders eyeing a price target of $85,000 next.

“Bitcoin has formed a massive descending broadening wedge, right around the previous cycle highs,” pseudonymous crypto trader Jelle wrote in a July 26 X post, which is typically seen as a reversal pattern where Bitcoin’s (BTC) price forms a sequence of lower highs and lower lows, with the gap widening as it falls, with the expectation of a upward trend reversal.

“Price looks eager for a breakout -- and once it does, I expect the move to be sharp. First target, $85,000,” they added, which is around 15% above Bitcoin’s current all-time high $73,679, which it reached in March.

Bitcoin is currently trading at $67,908, up 2.61% since July 26, according to CoinMarketCap data.

A move to $85,000 would represent around a 25% price increase — a spike that was seen on July 21, when Bitcoin bounced back from dropping below critical levels, recovering from $55,854 on July back to $68,181.

The next critical level for Bitcoin traders is reaching $69,000, its previous all-time highs reached in November 2021. A step to $69,000 will wipe $929.65 million in short positions, as per CoinGlass data.

“We are still in a larger range and it is best to assume we can find resistance the closer we get to $72,000 level,” pseudonymous crypto trader Emperor added.

The speculation comes after Cointelegraph recently reported that Bitcoin has recovered most of its losses since July 25 as traders wait to see what happens when former United States President Donald Trump takes the stage at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, Tennessee. 

“Nobody wants to short Bitcoin into the weekend,” 10x Research CEO Markus Thielen wrote in a July 25 analyst note.

Thielen explained that there are high expectations that Trump will announce plans for a strategic Bitcoin reserve at the Bitcoin Conference on July 27 should he be elected US president in November.

Thielen believes future traders are holding off on taking short positions on Bitcoin because they fear its price may surge.

“Because if Trump announced a strategic reserve, Bitcoin would gap higher,” Thielen told Cointelegraph.