Bitcoin drops back to $79.000 after Friday afternoon's correction

Bitcoin falls 1.7% on Friday afternoon to $79.318, after a brief rally toward the resistance zone above $82.000. Analyst Michaël van de Poppe describes it as an ordinary Friday afternoon correction and expects the price to return to $78.000. As long as Bitcoin continues to move within a sideways range, he sees this as a favourable time to build up altcoins.

Bitcoin is available at OKX and Bybit.

In brief:

• Bitcoin falls 1.7% to $79.318 after a rejection at the resistance zone above $82.000.
• Michaël van de Poppe sees a normal Friday afternoon correction and expects a return to $78.000.
• As long as Bitcoin moves sideways, he advises focusing on altcoins.

Rejection at resistance above $82.000

The chart clearly shows that earlier this week Bitcoin was also pushed back from the same resistance zone, around $82.000. That zone once again proved too strong: after a quick rally from the $77.000 region, the price fell back again.

This pattern fits the broader sideways movement in which Bitcoin has been stuck for some time. There is no genuine breakout to the upside as yet.

Van de Poppe: no panic, but no breakout either

Michaël van de Poppe states that the current decline is not a signal that Bitcoin will revisit all recent lows. In his view, this is a common correction typical of a Friday afternoon.

Van de Poppe estimates that $78.000 could act as support in the best case, after which the sideways movement will continue. As long as Bitcoin remains within this range, he sees more opportunities in altcoins. Earlier this week, Bitcoin already approached the resistance zone around $81.000, but a definitive breakout failed then as well.

Whether support at $78.000 holds and what that means for a possible resumption of the upward trend will become clear in the coming hours.