Veteran Trader Brandt: Classical Chart Patterns Prove Timeless Across Bitcoin and Commodities

The Pattern Repeats: Soybeans and Bitcoin Separated by Nearly 50 Years

According to Peter Brandt, the veteran trader who has spent decades analyzing markets, the fundamental principles of technical analysis transcend both asset classes and time periods. Brandt recently highlighted a compelling parallel by comparing a soybean chart dating back to 1977 with Bitcoin price action from 2025, demonstrating that identical chart formations appear across commodities and cryptocurrencies despite the half-century separation.

In a post on X, Brandt argued that the same technical pattern—specifically a broadening top formation—materialized in both markets. This pattern emerges when prices ascend while volatility simultaneously expands, causing successive peaks to climb higher and successive troughs to descend lower, ultimately producing a distinctive megaphone-like shape that reflects intensifying disagreement between buyers and sellers.

Validation Through Market Outcomes

The historical parallel extends beyond mere visual similarity to actual price behavior. In the 1977 soybean example, prices eventually breached the lower boundary of the expanding formation, triggering a significant decline. Bitcoin’s 2025 price action followed an strikingly similar progression, with the asset establishing an expanding top near its cycle peak in late 2025, subsequently breaking below critical support levels and entering an extended correction phase.

Brandt encapsulated his thesis simply: “The more things change, the more they stay the same. Old school works,” suggesting that investors should not discount classical technical analysis methodologies merely because they predate modern cryptocurrency markets.

Near-Term Outlook and Asset Rotation

As of early June, according to Brandt’s analysis, Bitcoin had achieved his initial downside target corresponding to the February low. However, the trader cautioned that this outcome did not necessarily signal a durable bottom, leaving open the possibility for further deterioration or a final capitulation event. His projection indicated that a tradable bottom would not likely materialize until October, providing a timeline for potential market stabilization.

Beyond his Bitcoin analysis, Brandt has suggested that precious metals may outpace the leading cryptocurrency in the near term. Earlier this month, he indicated consideration of reducing his Bitcoin exposure in favor of gold, citing the XAU/BTC ratio—a metric comparing gold’s value to Bitcoin’s value—as evidence that gold appeared positioned for relative outperformance.

Reflecting on his long trading career, Brandt acknowledged a significant regret: his failure to accumulate substantial Bitcoin holdings when the asset traded around $400, underscoring the importance of early conviction in emerging asset classes despite skepticism.

Source: Peter Brandt, via U.Today. Not financial advice.

The durability of classical technical analysis across crypto markets reinforces that fundamental market dynamics transcend technological shifts, providing relevant context for evaluating emerging digital assets alongside traditional commodities.