Bitcoin 

BTC

$20,846

 fell further at the start of the new week as a lack of bullish momentum sparked new lows near $44,000.

Bitcoin threatens loss of $44,000 “demand zone”

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD testing levels that analysts demand should stay as support.

After a weekly close below both the key 50-day and 200-day moving averages, the pair looked increasingly less likely to reclaim them on shorter timeframes.

For Cointelegraph contributor Michaël van de Poppe, the bullish crossover of the two averages, known as a “golden cross,” was still on the cards. There was, however, “no guarantee” that bullish behavior would result from the event taking place.

“I think we’re going to have a top of this cycle… next year, in April–May,” he forecast, giving a new, further-reaching timetable for BTC/USD to see its cycle top.

In the meantime, $44,000 and $47,000 form the support and resistance levels to watch for a continuation up and down, he added.

For fellow trader and analyst Rekt Capital, $44,000 was equally important, forming the lower boundary of a “demand area” among buyers.

“The recent BTC Weekly Close wasn’t technically bad as it occurred above the orange demand area. However, BTC is now dipping deeper into the demand area,” he commented on an accompanying chart Monday.

“That said, this demand area still hasn’t been lost. As long as the demand area holds, BTC won’t see $40K.”

Cardano 10% losses lead fresh altcoin rout

Altcoins fared worse than Bitcoin overnight, with the top 10 led by 11% 24-hour losses on Cardano 

ADA

$0.350

, which fell to $2.41.

Related: Bearish pennant breakdown confirmed? 5 things to watch in Bitcoin this week

The largest altcoin, Ether 

ETH

$1,544

, shed 6%, while the sole saving grace for investors was Polkadot’s DOT, which at the time of writing was clinging to 4% upside.

“Many Altcoins have performed favourable Weekly Closes, indicating that retests should follow,” Rekt Capital added about the latest moves.

“At this time, the retests are failing, coins threatening to lose key supports. But it’s early in the week. Could easily turn out to be normal retest volatility.”

Trader Scott Melker, meanwhile, soft-peddled concerns about Bitcoin’s failing market dominance, arguing that new altcoins were artificially diluting its stance.