Coinspeaker
Aug 18, 2026 upd. 19 Aug
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Bitcoin holds $63,500 as volatility trap score hits 91

3 min

Bitcoin trades near $63,500 on August 18, up about 1% intraday after rebounding from $62,751, per CoinGecko. Price reclaimed the 78.6% Fibonacci retracement at $63,152 and sits below the $65,000 resistance area. Market participants await September events: the next CLARITY Act meeting and FOMC minutes on September 16.

4-hour momentum improves; daily trend still cautious

On the 4-hour chart, BTC moved above the Bollinger Bands’ middle line at $63,173 and pierced the upper band near $63,774, indicating short-term momentum outside the recent range. Chaikin Money Flow rose to 0.24, showing volume supported the advance. Holding above $63,774 keeps focus on $64,700–$65,000 resistance.

The daily chart remains mixed. MACD printed near -183 versus a -101 signal line, with a histogram around -82, indicating lingering bearish momentum from last week’s decline. Daily CMF registered -0.05, contrasting with the positive 4-hour reading and signaling weak broader capital inflows despite short-term buying.

Volatility compression and liquidity clusters

Glassnode’s Rafael Schultze-Kraft reported Bitcoin implied volatility in the lowest 2% of its historical range, still about 1.5 times realized volatility. The firm’s volatility trap score reached 91 out of 100, the highest in more than 3.5 years. He noted compression indicates probability of a larger move without signaling direction.

CoinGlass one-week liquidation heatmap: overhead clusters near $64,000 and a larger one around $64,700. A break could trigger short covering toward $65,000. Downside liquidity sits near $62,700 and $62,200. These levels align with a $63,000 support and $65,000–$65,600 resistance range highlighted in an August 18 market snapshot from Sunday Guardian, which also cited more than $385 million in net spot Bitcoin ETF outflows during the prior week.

Paths from here: key levels and macro watch

A daily close above $64,000 strengthens recovery potential toward $65,000, then $67,357, the 61.8% retracement of the move from $82,825 to $57,796. Losing the $63,152 Fibonacci level reopens $62,500, then $60,000, with $57,796 as the broader bearish marker.

BTSE’s Jeff Mei said traders are monitoring FOMC minutes for rate-cut signals and whether the CLARITY Act gains Senate traction before recess. He added that ongoing AI-stock demand competes with crypto for institutional capital, which could distribute liquidity between sectors and cap upside for Bitcoin and broader crypto.