Bitcoin’s chart shows a new cycle is taking hold and investors should make use of current sluggishness, says Canaccord Genuity

Published Wed, Jul 19 20231:59 PM EDTUpdated Wed, Jul 19 20233:04 PM EDT

The price of bitcoin has been stuck for about a month, but its chart shows it could be near the start of a new cycle, making it a good time for long-term investors to add to their positions, according to Canaccord Genuity. Bitcoin on Wednesday was hovering just below the $30,000 level it retook four weeks ago. Still, it struggled to break above that mark earlier in the year and that continues to be the case now. Both bitcoin and ether are flat for the week, down 1% for the month and up about 7% since the rally on June 21 following BlackRock's bitcoin exchange-traded fund application. Multiple closing prices for both crypto assets show their short- and intermediate-term price trends are higher and support further upside, Canaccord's technical analyst Javed Mirza said in a note Tuesday. He told investors to "utilize pending near-term weakness to add exposure near important technical support at their 50-day moving averages." BTC.CM= 1Y mountain Bitcoin has been stuck at $30,000 but Canaccord Genuity sees 28% upside in the medium term Mirza said bitcoin can run another 28.3% higher from current levels, targeting $38,202, if it continues to close above $26,249 over several weeks. Investors should expect the first level of resistance at about $30,493 on the upside and the next at $31,476, he said. Should the bitcoin price turn lower, first support would be at $28,717, about the level of its 50-day moving average. The next level down would be at about $27,441, a level it has not seen in a month. For ether, he sees another 55.6% upside from current levels, targeting $2,952, if it can maintain a multiweek close of $1,935. Looking at the long term, bitcoin and ether also recently reclaimed their four-year moving averages of about $27,022 and $1,592, respectively. "This confirms the long-term trend is now up, a strong technical positive, and is consistent with a four-year cycle taking hold in cryptocurrencies," Mirza wrote. Bitcoin historically has followed a four-year cycle tied to its halving events — when the reward for mining bitcoin is cut in half, as designed in the Bitcoin code, to reduce the supply of the cryptocurrency. Lately, investors have been drawing similarities between the cryptocurrency's recent behavior and its moves in the lead up to the last halving. — CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed reporting.