Bitcoin’s ride above US$7,000 floundered over the weekend and technical indicators now paint a bleak outlook.

The moving-average convergence divergence indicator -- a measure of momentum -- suggests Bitcoin’s bullish trend is losing steam. The coin recently hit strong resistance around US$7,500 and could potentially be forming a new downtrend.

Cryptocurrencies have largely moved in conjunction with riskier assets over the past month, falling when equities come under pressure and rising when they gain. U.S. stocks initially sold off on Monday and Bitcoin dropped as much as 3.3 per cent to trade around US$6,900. Peer tokens, including Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash, also declined.

“When equity markets sell off, all people want to own is cash,” said Jerry Braakman, chief investment officer of First American Trust, in Santa Ana, California, which is managing US$1.8 billion. “When things are good, money will flow there and when things are bad, it’s going to have that downside.”

However, a number of analysts remain bullish on Bitcoin. Billionaire investor Mike Novogratz, who is long Bitcoin, says this is the time for the token to shine. At Bloomberg Intelligence, analyst Mike McGlone says global bond yields hurtling toward zero and increased stock market volatility, among other factors, improve the token’s fundamental and technical underpinnings.

“In the third year since its peak, we expect Bitcoin to continue doing what it has been, appreciating, but at a languid pace,” McGlone wrote in a note. “Bitcoin’s 2020 average price about US$8,070 to April 17 is the highest annual measure ever, indicating a market that is simply marking time.”