Two Hurdles? Bitcoin Faces Resistance Ahead of $4,500

Bitcoin bulls may soon be breathing a sigh of relief.

Having defended the 50-day moving average support, the price of bitcoin rose to a four-day high of $4,407 today. Week-over-week, the bitcoin-U.S. dollar (BTC/USD) exchange rate is now up 5.84 percent.

Brushing aside uncertainty surrounding a possible upcoming fork, bitcoin is looking northward ahead of the weekend and, should it cut through key technical hurdles ahead, it could be poised to push higher.

The rebound from the 50-day moving average is encouraging, but the cryptocurrency still faces the following hurdles:

• $4,420 – Resistance offered by the trend line sloping upwards from the September 15 low and September 25 low.
• $4,470 – Monday's doji candle high.

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An end-of-day close above $4,470 would signal failure of the bearish doji reversal and mark continuation of the higher highs and higher lows pattern. Thus, bitcoin could revisit $4,700, above which a major resistance is seen directly at $5,000 (record highs).

4-hour chart

*A failure to cut through $4,420 (trend line hurdle) followed by a break below $4,300 (support on 4-hour chart) would open up downside towards the head and shoulders neckline level of $4,200.
*A violation there would confirm bullish-to-bearish trend change.