Bitcoin retreats near $82,000; altcoins turn lower

Bitcoin stalled near $82,000 on Friday after a short rally above that level was met with selling that pushed the price back toward $79,000. Major altcoins including Ether, BNB and Solana reversed from recent resistance and showed renewed selling pressure.

Glassnode’s on-chain report identified a group of investors who bought between November and February near about $86,900 and noted those holders may supply coins near their entry prices after large drawdowns. CryptoQuant’s analysis identified the 200-day simple moving average, around $82,400, as a key resistance area and noted that a prior failure to clear that average in 2022 preceded a renewed downtrend.

Price action returned bitcoin to the 20-day exponential moving average, near $79,250. Market participants flagged the 20-day EMA and the 200-day SMA as levels to watch. Some traders described scenarios in which a sustained close above $84,000 would open a path to roughly $92,000, while a prolonged move below the 20-day EMA would put pressure on the 50-day simple moving average near $74,970.

Ether pulled back after turning down from its 20-day EMA near $2,297 and slipped below the 50-day SMA at about $2,250. Technical charts show an ascending channel with a support line near $1,916 and list the 20-day and 50-day averages as immediate nearby references.

BNB met resistance at $687 while its 20-day EMA around $649 remained upward sloping and the relative strength index sat near overbought levels. A clear break above $687 would target higher resistance levels, while failure to hold the 20-day EMA would leave the token trading inside its recent range.

Solana bounced off the 20-day EMA near $89 before falling below that average and has traded between roughly $76 and $98. XRP rose from its 20-day EMA and challenged the downtrend line of a descending channel but failed to close above that line, leaving it exposed to moves back to earlier support near $1.27.

Dogecoin reached about $0.12 and encountered selling; its 20-day EMA sits near $0.11 and the token has traded inside a band roughly between $0.09 and $0.12. Smaller tokens showed mixed activity: Hyperliquid recovered from about $38 and pushed past $45.77 before meeting resistance, with a 20-day EMA near $41.96. Cardano, Zcash and Bitcoin Cash showed distribution around recent highs and faced tests of moving averages that will determine near-term ranges.

Traders noted that buyers kept bitcoin above a short-term breakout area around $76,000 on Friday, while the price continued to test overhead resistance near the 200-day SMA and other key averages.