Bitcoin (BTC<\/a>) stayed rigid below $17,000 at the Dec. 19 Wall Street open as skeptical traders feared more downside.<\/p>\n Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro<\/a> and TradingView<\/a> showed BTC\/USD lingering around the $16,700 mark, practically unmoved over the weekend.<\/p>\n The pair saw only fractional volatility at the open, as United States equities fell slightly. At the time of writing, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index were down 0.5% and 1%, respectively.<\/p>\n For Bitcoin traders, there was little to celebrate, with consensus forming around the potential for testing lower levels next. <\/p>\n \u201cBearish as long as it stays below the $19k,\u201d Crypto Poseidon summarized<\/a> alongside a chart.<\/p>\n Popular trader and analyst Rekt Capital highlighted $17,150 as an important level to reclaim to avoid further downside later on. <\/p>\n \u201cIf BTC continues to reject from the ~$17150 resistance… Then price could drop up to -20% to the downside in the coming weeks,\u201d he predicted<\/a>, uploading the one-month BTC\/USD chart.<\/p>\n Rekt Capital added<\/a> that there was \u201cstill time for BTC to perform a Monthly Close above the ~$17150 level later this month\u201d but that \u201ca Monthly Close below ~$17150 would confirm the beginnings of a breakdown from here.\u201d<\/p>\n Micha\u00ebl van de Poppe, founder and CEO of trading firm Eight, meanwhile,\u00a0offered<\/a> a slightly more hopeful outlook.<\/p>\n With more U.S. economic data expected toward the end of the week, BTC\/USD had the potential to break to the upside and target $17,300 to then offer \u201cshort opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo breakthrough, then looking for longs around $16.2K or $15.5K,\u201d he countered.<\/p>\n News that Binance.US, the U.S. offshoot of crypto exchange Binance, had offered<\/a> to acquire the assets of stricken lender Voyager, but it had no tangible impact on market performance.<\/p>\n Related:\u00a0\u2018Wave lower\u2019 for all markets? 5 things to know in Bitcoin this week<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n The latest development in the FTX saga, the announcement came as Binance itself continued<\/a> to deal with what its CEO, Changpeng Zhao, again called<\/a> \u201cFUD\u201d over the weekend.<\/p>\n In a letter<\/a>\u00a0to investors, meanwhile, Michael Sonnenshein, CEO of investment firm Grayscale, sought to draw a clear distinction between FTX and crypto as a whole. Grayscale\u2019s parent company, Digital Currency Group (DCG), had previously also become caught up<\/a> in the FTX aftermath.<\/p>\n \u201cFTX Was a Failure of People, Not a Failure of Crypto: Too many investors were harmed. From crypto to traditional finance, mainstream media, and D.C. \u2013 it seems few were spared from deception through false narratives and false documentation,\u201d he wrote. <\/p>\n \u201cWe should not, however, conflate the actions of a few individuals and organizations with Bitcoin or Ethereum, the underlying blockchain technology, or smart contracts and decentralized finance applications.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Grayscale\u2019s flagship product, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), traded at a 48.7% discount to the Bitcoin spot price as of Dec. 17 \u2014 its steepest discount ever, according to data from Coinglass<\/a>.<\/p>\n The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the authors\u2019 alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![](\"https:\/\/s3.cointelegraph.com\/uploads\/2022-12\/42d784cc-69e5-400a-a264-bedcec5dc853.png\")
BTC traders call time on upside potential<\/h2>\n
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Grayscale CEO: FTX was a \u201cfailure of people\u201d<\/h2>\n
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