Bitcoin slips below $8,500; Charts suggest more pain ahead

Bitcoin prices fell below $8,500 on Friday, extending previous day's sell off amidst reports of increased scrutiny on cryptocurrencies by Japanese regulators.

The cryptocurrency hit a low of $8,347 and was trading 2.6 percent lower near $8,489 as of 0900 GMT, according to CoinDesk's bitcoin price index.

Here are some of the key technical levels to watch out for:

• Charts suggest further pullback in prices after the cryptocurrency failed to take out resistance around $9,000 levels

• Bitcoin has spent more than 48 hours trading the narrow range of $8,700-$9,200, signaling fresh weakness likely

• The cryptocurrency saw some profit taking after it rallied close to $2,000 from the March 18 low of $7,335

• Key resistance levels are lined up in the $9,180-$9,470 range

• Nearly 13 of the 15 key moving averages signal a 'Strong Sell' on the cryptocurrency: Tradingview data