Bitcoin shakes off ‘death-cross’ signal to trade slightly higher

Bitcoin shakes off ‘death-cross’ signal to trade slightly higher

The price of the No. 1 digital currency rose Monday, as it looks to claw back some losses from the previous week, which took the price of bitcoin from above $8,000 to below $6,500.

The selling pressure into the weekend formed the much talked about ‘death-cross,’ a chart formation where the 50-day moving average crosses below the 200-day moving average. The indicator is generally regarded as a negative signal with short-term price momentum now below long-term trends.

However, the price of bitcoin BTCUSD, +2.90% has risen sharply since forming the so-called death-cross suggesting the anticipation of the cross may have caused a bear trap, with those betting for further declines caught off guard as the asset pitched higher. Furthermore, bitcoin is at its most oversold level on a relative-strength-index basis, or RSI, since trading below $6,000 on Feb. 6, technical analysts say.

A single bitcoin was last exchanged at $7,038.48, up 3.2% today and more than $500 off its weekend low of $6,456.05.

Air Asia goes digital

Malaysia-based Air Asia has announced its frequent-flier program would be converted to a digital-currency platform called BigCoin where customers can purchase meals, seat upgrades and other services.

The company’s CEO Tony Fernandes told the Nikkei Review that the move was part of a bigger plan to “take cash off the planes.”

Fernandes said the company does plan to do an initial coin offering (ICO) at some point, but no timeline was discussed.

Read: United Airlines scraps bonus lottery plan after employee revolt

Other markets

Other digital currencies have begun the week in the green. Ether is looking to regain the $400 handle, trading at $393.07, up 3.7%, Bitcoin cash is up 6% at $682.28, Litecoin has risen 4.2% and was last traded at $119.95 and Ripple is up 4% at 51 cents.

Futures markets were closed Friday and have opened Monday in the red. The Cboe’s April contract is down 2,6% at $7,050 and the CME Group Inc. April contract BTCJ8, -4.09%  is off 4% at $7,040.