The price of BTC hits $38K with Bitcoin analysts focusing on a weekly close

Whether or not Bitcoin price movement eventually returns to downward momentum, the preferred short-term goal is $39,600. On Jan. 26, Bitcoin (BTC) went ahead to retest the $38,000 resistance level as expectations for recovery to $40,000 and higher grew.

What Next – A $40,000 retest?

Data from both TradingView and Cointelegraph Markets Pro followed BTC/USD as it continued the recovery that started on Monday.

But by the time of writing, two positive developments of $38,000 had already occurred, with the pair being just below that level amid further direction indications.

According to Michael van de Poppe, a Cointelegraph contributor, the signs were a bit encouraging, with the stage being prepared for a possible exit from the $30,000-$40,000 corridor.

“Bitcoin held $36K and tested $38K already. If that one tests again, we are likely to get a breakout and potentially test $40.7K,” Michael van de Poppe told his Twitter followers.

Trader, podcast presenter, and commentator Scott Melker dubbed the “Wolf Of All Streets” was just as positive on short timeframes. “Target is $39,600, which as you know is ‘coincidentally’ the key resistance on higher time frames,” Melker said as part of his latest update on Twitter, identifying a cup and handle pattern on the hourly chart.

Even if the overall trend requires Bitcoin to continue to fall, Scott Melker added, $39,600 remained a key zone to test.

Gains made by Dogecoin outperform major cryptos

Altcoins continued to report some recovery, meanwhile, with Ether managing gains of up to 4.3% in the last 24 hours, moving it above $2,500.

A number of peers that included Solana (SOL) and XRP outperformed the largest altcoin in terms of market capitalization.

Dogecoin (DOGE), on the other hand, led the top 10 cryptos by market, putting it around 10% gains over the same period.

All these happenings captured the attention of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who went ahead to pledge to eat one of McDonald’s Happy Meals on Television if the fast-food giant went ahead and accepted DOGE as a method of payment.

At the time of writing, DOGE/USD traded at $0.15, still around 9% below its position a week ago.