Bitcoin finally breaks above psychological $20,000 barrier

$20,000 breakout

Bitcoin finally broke above the $20,000 resistance barrier this week, as institutional demand and fears about US dollar depreciation propelled the bellwether cryptocurrency towards the $24,000 level. The BTCUSD pair surged by around $4,000 after breaking past the cryptocurrencies former all-time trading high, around the $19,900 level. The BTCUSD pair started to rally following news that a major UK investment fund was going to deploy over $700 million into Bitcoin for their investors. Fear over the greenback weakening also sent traders into the BTCUSD pair, as US Congress moved closer to agreeing on a massive new COVID-19 stimulus package.

• The BTCUSD pair is only bearish while trading below the $19,500 level, key support is found at the $18,900 and $16,000 levels.
• The BTCUSD pair is only bullish while trading above the $19,500 level, buyers may test towards the $24,000 and $24,800 resistance levels.

Altcoins reverse

Ethereum and Litecoin surged to new 2020 trading highs this week, as the breakout in Bitcoin above the $20,000 propelled altcoins higher. Ethereum moved towards the $700.00 resistance level after breaking past the former yearly high, around the $638.00 level. Litecoin broke above the $100.00 resistance level, after staging a major technical breakout above the $90.00 level. News that Grayscale Investments continued to accumulate Ethereum and Litecoin as part of their client portfolio helped cement confidence towards both cryptocurrencies. The recent move by PayPal into cryptos is also seen as bullish for Litecoin and Ethereum over the long-term.

• The ETHUSD  pair is only bearish while trading below the $600.00 level, key support is found at the $580.00 and $550.00 levels.
• If the ETHUSD pair trades above the $600.00 level, buyers may test towards the $700.00 and $770.00 resistance levels.

Euro high

The euro currency rallied to a new 2020 trading high this week against the US dollar, following the release of positive German data. The EURUSD pair surged above the 1.2200 level after the German Manufacturing PMI beat market expectations, marking the pairs highest trading level since April 2018. Weak Retail Sales data from the United States economy also helped to underpin the bid-tone towards the EURUSD pair. Traders also remained cautious as the release of a new COVID-19 stimulus package looked set to weaken the US dollar currency against most major currencies.

• The EURUSD pair is only bearish while trading below the 1.2130 level, key support is found at the 1.2000 and 1.1940 levels.
• The EURUSD pair is only bullish while trading above the 1.2130 level, buyers may test towards the 1.2300 and 1.2400 resistance levels.

FOMC cautious

The FOMC December policy decision this week showed that the US central bank remained extremely cautious towards the US economy next year. The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged and noted that they will be keeping bond purchasing in place until they see significant evidence that the US economy is starting to recover. The US dollar weakened after the FOMC policy statement, will the stock market failed to rally on the promise of more economic stimulus. Gold and silver both rallied, and investors anticipated more weakness in the US dollar.

• The FTSE 100 is only bullish while trading above the 6,480 level, key resistance is found at the 6,630 and 6,700 levels.
• The FTSE 100 is only bearish while trading below the 6,480 level, key support is located at the 6,310 and 6,170 levels.