Bitcoin price targets include new $14K dip as Fed’s Powell avoids inflation

Bitcoin (BTC) traders faced disappointment at the January 10 Wall Street open as the United States Federal Reserve declined to comment on future policy.

BTC/USD 1-Hour Candlestick Chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView Powell is silent on Fed policy

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView followed BTC/USD as it remained flat at around $17,250 on Bitstamp.

Hopes were centered on a new BTC price catalyst courtesy of the Fed in the form of a speech from Chairman Jerome Powell.

Speaking at the International Symposium on Central Bank Independence at the Bank of Sweden’s headquarters in Stockholm, however, Powell avoided the topic of US monetary policy altogether.

“I will address three main points. “First, the independence of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy is an important and widely supported institutional arrangement that has served the American public well,” he began.

“Second, the Fed must continually gain that independence by using our tools to achieve our stated goals of maximum employment and price stability, and by providing transparency to facilitate effective understanding and oversight by the public and its elected representatives in Congress. Third, we must stick to our weave and not wander off to pursue perceived social benefits that are not closely related to our statutory purposes and authorities.

The last point referred to the Fed implicating itself in the climate change debate.

In the absence of market boosters, neither crypto stocks nor US stocks were particularly promising in the first hour of trading on Wall Street.

In a new analysis, Filbfilb, co-founder of trading group DecenTrader, outlined potential upside and downside targets for BTC price action in the near term.

Volatility, as Cointelegraph reported, was still expected on January 12 with the release of Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for December.

“Buyers have been found for 2 months below 16.5k,” he told Telegram channel subscribers, highlighting some weekly moving averages (WMAs) to keep in mind.

“The 20 WMA sits around 18.3k which is also the current range high, previous support and diagnostic resistance. If it breaks that key level, the top of the wedge would be the target, also the 200 WMA $24K”.

If bearish trends reverse, meanwhile, a trip to $14,000 remained possible.

“Liquidity shows it may be a bit difficult to get it up to 24k,” Filbfilb continued.

“If there’s a twist thrown into the mix, there’s fuel in the tank to get us to 14-14.5k.” Chart marked BTC/USDT. Source: Filbfilb/TradingViewWinklevoss accuses GBTC CEO Silbert of fraud

Elsewhere, tensions involving crypto conglomerate Digital Currency Group (DCG) continued to flare during the day.

Related: BTC 3-Week Highs Greet US CPI – 5 Things to Know in Bitcoin This Week

Cameron Winklevoss, co-founder of Exchange Gemini, followed up with an open letter to DCG CEO Barry Silbert, accusing him of fraud and calling on the firm’s board to fire him.

The debacle, part of the global fallout from FTX’s collapse, centers on frozen customer funds and Silbert’s alleged unwillingness to cooperate with creditors’ demands.

A separate effort, Redeem GBTC, seeks to gain access to funds on behalf of investors in Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), the largest institutional Bitcoin investment vehicle, with over $10 billion in assets under management.

Its creator, crypto entrepreneur David Bailey, has informally pledged to expand the scope of the grassroots campaign to include other crypto-funds operated by Grayscale, which in turn is a subsidiary of GBTC.

The event, as before, however, failed to produce noticeable price pressure on Bitcoin itself.

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