Cryptocurrency Market Update: Bitcoin takes off to $11,400 as Bakkt BTC futures volume hit new all-time high

• Bitcoin posts an 11-month high after a breakout past $10,500 and $11,000 resistance zones.
• Bitcoin price retreats under $11,000 to seek support at $10,500 if not $10,750.
• Bakkt Bitcoin futures volume hit record all-time high of 11, 509 contracts.

After two consecutive days of consistent gains, Bitcoin was able to hit a new 2020 high at $11,400 (on Bitfinex). The gains come after several weeks of a stalemate in price actions mainly for BTC and ETH. The breakout has seen attention creep back to Bitcoin with investors hopeful that this is the beginning of a journey to highs above $20,000.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin has retreated to levels under $11,000 and is trading at $10,750 at the time of writing. It is not clear how far the ongoing retreat will go. However, the BTC/USD clearly shows $10,500 (former resistance) as formidable support. Buyers will try to hold above $10,750 because if they succeed, they can easily gain traction past $11,000.

Related reading: Cryptocurrency Market News: Bitcoin price imminent lift-off to $28,000

From a technical perspective, Bitcoin is falling back into the hands of the bears. The RSI is almost retreating from the overbought while the MACD has hit a wall at 370. It is essential to watch the actions of the RSI as it would help show the direction Bitcoin would take henceforth. Based on the way things stand, consolidation could be the best move for Bitcoin as it would give the bulls time to stage another attack on $11,000 while keeping the focus beyond the new yearly highs.

Bakkt BTC futures volume surge

Bakkt, the subsidiary of Intercontinental Exchange, has seen its Bitcoin futures contract volume surge to hit 10,509 on July 27. As for Bakkt one contract represents 1 BTC which sums up to about $128 million. This particular surge is so massive that it dwarfs all the other highs recorded in the past. For example, the 6,312 contracts recorded on June 19, 2019. The surge then coincided with Bitcoin’s bullish reversal of more than 15% from levels around $6,400.

The recent surge was in tandem with Bitcoin price breakout from levels around $10,500 to the new yearly highs at $10,400. During this time, over $120 million in Bitcoin short positions were liquidated on the giant Bitfinex exchange. Bitcoin is expected to settle above $10,000 in anticipation of more rallies towards the end of the year.