The chart bitcoin traders should be paying attention to
The chart in question is WTI crude oil, the main U.S. benchmark for oil prices.
Bitcoin (BTC) traders, and traders in other markets, should keep an eye on it because oil appears to be at an inflection point, with a big move likely. And that move could have major implications for inflation and risk assets.
The daily WTI chart looks like a funnel lying on its side. The wide price swings of March and April have steadily contracted, with lower peaks and shallower dips narrowing toward a tight neck near $102.
Chart watchers call this a coil or pennant pattern. The market is getting tighter and tighter, like a spring. Sooner or later it breaks free. When it does, the move is often big, as Naomi Blohm, senior market advisor at agri-advisory firm Total Farm Marketing, said on X.
That’s the standard read of triangles by traders and analysts.
Here is the catch. The pattern does not say which way oil breaks, meaning the big move can happen in either direction, which leaves us with two scenarios.
Two possibilities
Say oil breaks higher, beyond the upper end of the funnel/triangle, currently near $105.50. Above it, the focus would shift to March and April highs near $117 to $119.
That matters for bitcoin. A sustained oil rally could fuel inflation, push government bond yields higher, and keep interest rates elevated for longer. That would tighten credit conditions across the economy and financial markets, often cooling demand for riskier assets such as bitcoin and technology stocks. Inflation concerns are already building, with oil prices up 80% this year.
Bitcoin is often called digital gold. However, in reality, it has traded more like stocks. Its 30-day correlation with the Nasdaq 100 is 0.64, according to CoinDesk’s analysis of TradingView data. A reading of 1 means two assets move in lockstep.
Since the Iran war began, bitcoin has also moved opposite to oil. Its 30-day correlation with oil is minus 0.47, against plus 0.18 just before the war. So if stocks struggle with higher oil and higher yields, bitcoin would likely struggle too.
Now say oil breaks lower. The line to watch sits near $93. Falling oil would ease inflation worries, and that would be good for stocks and bitcoin alike.
Nobody knows which way the oil will breakout. But, whichever way it goes, it could set the tone for risk assets in the weeks ahead.
Iran is definitely preparing for higher prices. It’s budget planners are reportedly considering oil at $130 per barrel for the next