Bitcoin buyers had their shot above the 200-hour MA. They missed.

<p>Bitcoin is trading near its session low at $82,389 after reaching a high of $84,254 earlier today.</p><p>That high took the price above the 200-hour moving average (green line), currently at $83,877. The break gave buyers an opportunity to build upside momentum. Instead, the move failed, buyers turned to sellers, and the price rotated lower.</p><p>The decline has since taken bitcoin below its 100-hour moving average at $82,786, giving sellers another short-term technical victory.</p><p>Can they keep the pressure on?</p><p>24 days of range trading</p><p>Looking at the bigger picture, bitcoin has spent the last 24 days—since September 18—trading between $80,106 and $87,374. There has been plenty of up-and-down price action, but no sustained break from that range.</p><p>Last Tuesday, buyers made another run toward the upper extreme but stalled ahead of the target. The subsequent reversal took the price below both the 100- and 200-hour moving averages.</p><p>Apart from brief breaks above the 200-hour moving average on Sunday and again today, the price has remained below that indicator, keeping the technical bias more bearish.</p><p>What sellers need to do next</p><p>On the downside, the price is now within a swing area between $81,183 and $82,653. Sellers need to push below the lower boundary at $81,183 to open the door for a test of $80,106—the September 20 low that was revisited last week.</p><p>Break below $80,106 and stay below, and sellers would finally have a move outside the broader trading range, opening the door for further downside momentum.</p><p>Until then, support still needs to be broken. Sellers have more work to do.</p><p>What buyers need to reclaim</p><p>For buyers, the first step is to reclaim the 100-hour moving average at $82,786. Above that, the 200-hour moving average at $83,877 remains the key hurdle. Getting above and staying above that level would give buyers another opportunity to take back control.</p><p>The buyers had their shot today. They missed. Sellers have the advantage below the hourly moving averages, but they still need to break support to turn that advantage into a bigger move lower.</p> This article was written by Greg Michalowski at investinglive.com.