On July 30, the local top ofBTC was $24,600, before closing three consecutive daily red candles. The peak to trough losses came in at $1,800, or 7%.
Today, August 3 sees some reprieve, as buyers give rise to a 3% upside swing. As of press time, BTC was trading at $23,300, while the rest of the market was trading flat with a slight upside bias.
A consideration of recent coin price action was the heightening tensions between the U.S. and China over House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, according to Bloomberg News.
The Chinese hierarchy warned Pelosi to cancel the trip weeks before. The House Speaker touched down in Taiwan on August 2, stoking geopolitical tensions.
The threat of escalation between the two superpowers resulted in investors ditching stocks and U.S. equity futures. The price of the digital currency fell by 3% on the day before closing at $22,900.
Since July 13, BTC has been moving upwards after making a local bottom at $18,900. This run peaked just short of $25,000 during the weekend, as tensions between the U.S. and China intensified over Pelosi's visit to Taiwan. This was the best run ofBitcoin since October 2021, according to Bloomberg.
Technical analysts are split on what will happen next. Micha l van de Poppe noted that the run resulted in BTC closing slightly above the 200 day moving average for the first time in five weeks. An asset trading above the 200 day moving average is considered a long-term uptrend.
JoeChampion sees a head and shoulders pattern that will cause the price to drop further in the short term. He stopped short of giving a predicted bottom.
Taiwan is considered a breakaway republic that will be reintegrated with the mainland one day, according to the Chinese Communist Party.
In the run-up to Pelosi's visit, a phone call between President Xi and President Biden ended with Xi insinuating repercussions if Pelosi went ahead with her visit to Taiwan, according to ZeroHedge.
China has imposed sanctions on Taiwan that will suspend the exports of natural sand and certain food products, such as fish and fruits. Natural sand is a component of semiconductor manufacturing.
On August 4 there will be live ammunition military drills around the Taiwan Strait, with some exercises less than ten miles from the Taiwanese coastline.