Bitcoin (BTC) hit 24-hour highs later on Aug. 4 as fresh comments from the United States regulatory sphere boosted flagging price action.
Gensler bullish on Bitcoin's "potential"
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView confirmed local highs above $39,000 on Bitstamp, with BTC/USD jumping 2% in an hour.
The move, which ended a descending channel in place overnight, followed a mainstream media appearance by Gary Gensler, the new Chair of U.S. regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
A seasoned MIT lecturer on cryptocurrency among other topics, Gensler had been welcomed by the industry as a potential catalyst towards favorable regulation by Washington.
A speech Tuesday had gone some way to reassuring markets, while Wednesday's CNBC stint reinforced Gensler's desire to iron out fraud while allowing investors access to what he called "speculative" assets — Bitcoin and altcoins.
"This innovation — Satoshi Nakamoto's innovation — if it is going to meet its potential, needs to come within public policy frameworks," he told the network, notably singling out Bitcoin in particular over other cryptocurrencies.
Gensler's comments had been a potential source of concern for traders as the week began, this due at a timely juncture as Bitcoin was already coming down from a rapid ascent to multi-week highs above $42,500.
Solid support remained at $36,000 on major exchange BINANCE on the day, this level yet to see a true test after Wednesday's sudden turnaround.
Moving averages are trader's "biggest concern"
Nonetheless, it was clear that price action on the day was attracting attention.
Related: 3 reasons why Bitcoin can suddenly explode to a new $50K–$65K range
For trader and analyst Rekt Capital, potential strength here could allay fears that Bitcoin will end up flipping its 200-day exponential moving average to resistance for the long term.
The 200EMA, currently at around $38,300, lay below spot price after the Gensler episode.
If this recent #BTC bounce is merely a relief rally to flip the 200-day EMA back into resistance...
Then $BTC could pullback towards the blue 50-day EMA
The 50 DEMA is another EMA that has historically proven to be useful in supporting Bull Market uptrends#Crypto #Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/AWwP5jomvv
— Rekt Capital (@rektcapital) August 4, 2021
In comments to Cointelegraph, fellow analyst Filbfilb added that Bitcoin had also yet to reclaim the 100-day and 20-week moving averages.
"This is my biggest concern," he warned.
