Bitcoin Holds $7K as China Sees First GDP Drop, Oil Lowest Since 1987

A historic first for China combines with oil reverting to 1987 levels to produce fresh uncertainty across global markets, while Bitcoin flounders.

Bitcoin (BTC) was fighting to keep $7,000 support on April 17 as China saw a historical GDP contraction and oil sank to prices last seen in 1987.

Cryptocurrency market daily overview. Source: Coin360

BTC price uncertain at $7,000

Data from Coin360 and Cointelegraph Markets showed BTC/USD repeatedly testing the $7,000 mark as the week drew to a close, having reached highs of $7,195 on Thursday.

At press time, the pair circled $7,050 amid choppy conditions as traditional markets continued to shock investors.

Bitcoin 1-day price chart. Source: Coin360

Oil saw fresh woes despite last week’s deal to cut production. CFDs on WTI fell below $18 a barrel on Friday — matching their levels from 33 years ago.

“I believe oil can go as low as $10,” commentator Tone Vays confirmed in the latest edition of his Market Pulse YouTube series. 

Previously, it was United States President Donald Trump who publicly hinted that buying at $9 for a barrel would be successful.

At the same time, figures released on Friday confirmed an unprecedented GDP decline for China in Q1 2020, the economy contracting by 6.8%. Chinese quarterly GDP has never shrunk before.

Those critical of the fiat money system continue to query the true role of GDP in determining the health of “the economy.” Among them are Allen Farrington and Sascha Meyers, who in an article in March titled “This is Not Capitalism” explained the redundancy of the metric.

“Widespread misunderstandings of money and capital, and of stocks and flows, come together to form a dangerous cocktail with GDP growth,” it summarizes.

Analyst: losses could extend to “low $5Ks”

For Bitcoin, meanwhile, it was the heavy resistance just past $7,000 that was keeping the cryptocurrency firmly in check. 

“Rejected at the level we’ve been watching. Still indecisive here,” Cointelegraph Markets analyst Michaël van de Poppe warned on Twitter.

“Could sweep the highs back again, before dropping down towards $6,800-6,860 and then I’d be looking to get some longs going. Losing that area and I still believe we’re seeing low $5ks.”

Altcoins were looking weaker, with Ether (ETH) leading large market cap token losses of around 1.5% on the day.