Bitcoin faces strong resistance at the $84,000 mark, its 200-day SMA, while a MACD crossover on the 2-week chart suggests a potential macro trend reversal after the FOMC meeting.
Bitcoin BTC $82 726 24h volatility: 0.4% Market cap: $1.65 T Vol. 24h: $55.74 B and altcoins are currently showing strength ahead of the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting which will conclude on March 19. Investors will be closely watching Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s decision on interest rates, which will decide the next directional trajectory for the crypto market.
Can Bitcoin Price Break Past $84,000 Resistance Post Fed’s FOMC?
Bitcoin price has been facing strong resistance at the 200-day simple moving average of $84,000. Bulls need to muster strength to take BTC past this resistance for a surge to higher levels of $90,000, its 50-day SMA, and higher.
Renowned crypto analyst Ali Martinez has pointed to a significant technical signal for Bitcoin (BTC). Martinez noted that a MACD crossover on the 2-week chart suggests a potential macro trend reversal for the cryptocurrency.
Matt Hougan, CIO of Bitwise Asset Management, outlined two contrasting scenarios for Bitcoin’s trajectory based on the Fed’s stance. If the Federal Reserve adopts a more accommodative stance to ease economic uncertainty, Hougan predicts Bitcoin could surge to $200,000 by year-end.
However, he explained that if the Fed takes a stricter monetary approach, BTC could face a sharp pullback to $72,000 in the near term. During the FOMC meeting on Wednesday, the Fed is likely to keep interest rates unchanged in the range 4.25% to 4.5%. While there has been speculation about possible rate cuts, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has emphasized caution for any quick rate cut measures.
What’s Next for Altcoins?
Altcoins have already faced severe selling pressure since the beginning of 2025 with Ethereum ETH $2 638 24h volatility: 3.1% Market cap: $318.87 B Vol. 24h: $32.73 B , Solana SOL $115.3 24h volatility: 0.2% Market cap: $65.28 B Vol. 24h: $5.80 B , Cardano ADA $0.31 24h volatility: 4.1% Market cap: $11.39 B Vol. 24h: $804.00 M , and others correcting 35-40% so far this year. Despite this, some market analysts believe that the altcoin season is still in the making.
Crypto analyst Crypto Patel has suggested that a potential breakdown in Bitcoin dominance could pave the way for a significant shift in market liquidity toward altcoins.
As BTC dominance approaches a critical trendline, Patel highlighted the possibility of a substantial altcoin rally, with some tokens potentially surging by 10x to 20x or more.
Market watchers are closely monitoring this key metric, as a breakdown could signal the start of a long-awaited altseason, driving explosive growth in the broader cryptocurrency market.
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