Bitcoin Cash (BCH) defies altcoin dump after Bitcoin nosedives

BCH price above $260 as bulls aim at retaining momentum towards $300

Bitcoin Cash price held above a major support level, surging to highs of $280 before a slowdown saw prices settle near the critical zone at $266.

Notably, Bitcoin Cash remained green on a day Bitcoin (BTC) price nosedived from highs of $13,800 to lows of $12,932. The rest of the large – cap altcoins in the top 10 by market cap suffered alongside Bitcoin, with Ethereum, XRP, Polkadot and Litecoin all losing over 3% of their respective value during an intense sell – off session.

While BCH remains strong above the major support area, the technical picture suggests a downward flip is likely if the price dips amid increased selling pressure.

BCH/USD technical perspective

Bitcoin Cash price has traded higher within an ascending channel, with the altcoin’s upside momentum likely to see bulls retest resistance at $300. To achieve this, bulls have to push higher on higher time frames.

A flip above $270 should see them aim at yesterday’s highs, which should then provide the impetus to turn the hurdle into support. Once they clear this barrier turned support level, bulls could rally to prices near $300 within the next few days.

The MACD suggests that the bulls are still in charge as seen on the 1 – hour chart. But should the bullish momentum dissipate, the 100 hourly simple moving average provides enough support to absorb bearish pressure around $267.

Conversely, a downward flip from the current price level could see bears take control. If BCH sellers push towards $260 with success, the main support areas lie around the 100 – day simple moving average at $256.96. The daily chart also shows that any further declines could force bulls to defend recent gains at the 200 – SMA near $247.27 and 50 – SMA near $237.70.

Technical analyst Crypto Michael has some advice for altcoin traders:

“It’s just not the climate to be buying altcoins at this point, which is not bad. In trading, the right approach is to be patient until confirmation exists. The primary confirmation for buying altcoins is strength on $ETH. And a $BTC that’s bottomed out. Neither is the case.”

At the time of writing, BCH/USD is trading around $269, area buyers might need to defend aggressively to prevent sellers from taking the initiative.