Bitcoin (BTC) gave traders a serious sense of deja vu on Aug. 26 after a fresh attack on $50,000 ended in a firm rejection.

Bitcoin optimism wavers

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD falling to local lows of $46,540 on Bitstamp, having passed $49,300 hours before. 

The action continues rangebound behavior which looks to be cementing old resistance at $51,000, bears lacking volume and momentum to flip the area to support.

Despite pausing in the mid $46,000 range, Bitcoin was not enticing many for long positions on the day, with popular trader Crypto Ed eyeing the potential for another relief rally before an even deeper price dip takes hold.

#BTC step 2 (bounce) executed it seems pic.twitter.com/ZPEsDXspmk

— Crypto_Ed_NL (@Crypto_Ed_NL) August 26, 2021

Others were more optimistic, among them contributors to market updates at on-chain analytics service CryptoQuant.

In one of various updates on the day, one analyst forecast that a BTC price move below $47,000 would be a “fake dip,” and the result would be a successful crossing of the $50,000 mark.

Buyer support on BTC/USD was meanwhile wearing thin Thursday, with reliable interest on major exchange Binance only in place closer to $41,000.

Ethereum nears $3,000 retest

A similar picture held true for major altcoins as Bitcoin ranged.

Related: Ethereum traders expect volatility ahead of Friday’s $820M options expiry

Out of the top ten cryptocurrencies by market cap, none posted meaningful 24-hour gains, while equally barely moving in any direction.

Ether (ETH) maintained $3,000 support by a thread, while Cardano (ADA) erased more of its weekly returns, still up 20% over the past seven days.