• BTC’s pump towards $70K stalled ahead of earnings season and US economic data. 
• Analysts evaluate whether BTC will breach the $70K psychological level this week. 

After an impressive run towards $70K, Bitcoin [BTC] faltered and slipped below $67K during Monday, 21st October, US hours.

The early-week cool-off mirrored nervousness in the US stock market, which sank ahead of this week’s earnings season for key firms. 

But BTC could remain range-bound towards the weekend on what QCP Capital projected might change after the market gets a clearer Fed rate path.

The trading firm said, 

“Expect some sideways action until Thursday’s PMI numbers, which may offer clues on the Fed’s rate path.” 

For context, PMI (Purchasing Manager’s Index) is a headline indicator for the state of the US economy and could gauge November’s Fed rate decision. 

Crypto week ahead: Will BTC hit a new ATH?

At press time, markets were pricing a 25 bps (basis point) Fed rate cut in the November meeting. How Thursday’s PMI data will tip the scales and influence BTC remains to be seen. 

That said, the US elections were also a key factor in BTC’s price action. We asked Maria Carola, CEO of crypto exchange StealthEX, for her BTC outlook as US elections draw closer. 

Carola told AMBCrypto that the increasing odds of Donald Trump’s win had boosted the recent BTC price rally towards $70K. However, she believed BTC could hit new ATH in November but not this week. 

“The likelihood of reaching a new all-time high (ATH) this week remains low…In November, Bitcoin will likely surpass ATH, initiating a steady growth towards the next major milestone of $100,000 per coin.” 

In the meantime, the recent pump towards $70K triggered renewed retail interest in BTC.

According to CryptoQuant, this trend mirrored a similar one in March, just before BTC hit a new ATH. 

“In the last 30 days, retail demand grew by about 13%, highlighting a scenario that was only seen in March, when we were close to the last historical high.”

Will the renewed retail interest push the rally forward like it did in March? 

QCP Capital said more retail players could jump in if BTC breached the $70K resistance.

“Both are nearing key resistance—$70k for #BTC and $2800 for ETH—which could spark major retail interest.”