On August 24, buyers and sellers tried to trigger a breakout, but Bitcoin (BTC) remained rigidly rangebound.
BTC/USD was seen to be trading about $21,500 at the start of Wall Street.
In the previous 24 hours, there had been minimal movement for the pair, which was now in its sixth day of sideways movement within a narrower range.
The status quo was frustrating exchange customers, including whales, according to data from the order book of the large exchange Binance that was posted on social media by on-chain monitoring service Material Indicators.
Bids were edging closer to the spot price at the time of writing, and seller interest was increasing at $21,600.
As the range in which BTC/USD floats is reduced due to liquidity, the outcome could be volatility, either to the upside or negative depending on whether buyers or sellers prevail.
“Really not much has changed since yesterday, i am still looking for that one leg down to take out the swing lows, followed by a relief wave,” popular trader Crypto Tony meanwhile told Twitter followers in an update on the day.
Fellow trader Crypto Ed meanwhile said that he was “not convinced” about the strength of the bounce from the weekend lows around $20,800.
In his latest YouTube video, he highlighted potential market entry levels between those lows and current spot with an eye to seeing a retest. Before that, he added, Bitcoin could revisit the range highs at just above $22,000.
Stocks meanwhile added to the sense that a risk asset resurgence could characterize the day.
Related: Bitcoin bulls may win big as two key moving averages prepare to cross
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index both headed higher at the Wall Street open, leading analyst Michaël van de Poppe to eye knock-on effects for BTC/USD.
Popular Twitter account Game of Trades contributed a longer-term bullish view for U.S. equities, noting that 90% of S&P 500 stocks were now above their 50-day moving average.
“This reading has presented investors with jaw dropping returns in a 6-12 month time frame. Load up,” he advised followers.
A possible headwind came in the form of the U.S. dollar. After dropping swiftly on the back of U.S. manufacturing data, the U.S. dollar index (DXY) canceled out its losses on the day, heading back toward new twenty-year highs.