Bitcoin (BTC) looked ready to challenge critical $47,000 resistance on Tuesday amidst a perfect storm of dwindling supply and "exhausted" bears.

BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView

Hodlers vs. whales in the battle for $fifty,000 retest

Information from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView followed BTC/USD as it hit local highs above $46,600 on Bitstamp.

The pair has gained $two,000 since Mon's lows of $43,700, with analysts hoping that $44,000 would at present stick as support.

For Cointelegraph contributor Michaël van de Poppe, $47,000 now formed the level to flip in order to spark a bullish run to the upside.

"On the upside, first, Bitcoin'due south price has to intermission through $47,000, every bit that'southward the current resistance. If that fails, upward continuation to $50,000 is possible as the terminal hurdle before a potential all-time high exam," he wrote in an analysis for Cointelegraph on the 24-hour interval.

Previously, whale selling beliefs had suggested that $47,000 would be difficult to beat.

Meanwhile, swain trader and analyst Rekt Capital eyed a return of important moving averages as an boosted bullish consideration.

Strong hand supply hits pre-bull run highs

At $46,000, more of the Bitcoin supply is owned by strong hands than practically e'er before, on-concatenation data confirms.

Related: BTC price nears $46K with Bitcoin exchange reserves lower than November 2022

In its latest weekly report, "The Week On-chain," analytics firm Glassnode revealed that long-term holders (LTHs) own well-nigh 13 million BTC — fourscore% of the supply.

The extent of strong hand belief in Bitcoin this yr contrasts strongly with previous eras, and the trend shows no sign of stopping.

Whereas brusk-term holders (STHs) take regularly formed a major market presence before, fifty-fifty the virtually recent run to $50,000 failed to shake LTH resolve.

"LTH owned supply has reached 79.5% of all BTC coins this week, which is equivalent to the level reached in October, prior to the bull market kicking off. In fact, on an absolute coin volume basis, LTHs currently own the most coins in history, hitting 12.97M BTC this calendar week," Glassnode noted.

"Peaks in LTH owned supply typically correlate with late phase bear markets which are historically followed by a supply squeeze and initiation of cyclical bull runs."
Bitcoin LTH/STH supply chart. Source: Glassnode

Equally Cointelegraph reported, an imminent supply squeeze is a focal topic amongst analysts this calendar week.