In recent days, bitcoin (btc) has swung between $100,000 and $102,000 following multiple failed attempts to enter higher price zones.
Despite surpassing the $100,000 price mark in early December, the leading cryptocurrency has seen its bullish momentum slow in the fourth quarter, rising just over 4% so far in the final month of 2024. In the middle Of this stagnant price growth, recent data on bitcoin miners transactions may indicate additional concerns for investors.
bitcoin miners' holdings fall to 1.95 million btc
According to renowned crypto expert Ali Martínez, bitcoin miners recently <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/ali_charts/status/1867980873728946583″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener nofollow”>shed significant amounts of their holdings. based on According to data from Santiment, these miners have sold more than 140,000 btc, valued at $13.72 billion, so far in December, reducing their supply from around 2.08 million btc to 1.95 million btc.
Overall, a massive drop in bitcoin miners' holdings can be indicative of potential weakness in the btc price. Additionally, it can produce downward pressure on the asset's price, especially if the newly released supply exceeds market demand.
Furthermore, while bitcoin miners can simply liquidate their holdings to cover operating costs, larger market sell-offs like the one reported by Martinez could suggest financial constraints and possible miner capitulation occurring alongside an extended bear market.
So far, the btc price has yet to show any significant reaction to this drop in miner holdings, as the asset has only seen brief price pullbacks, following a sudden price drop and rejections in the price region. of 102,000.
Is btc heading towards $176,000 target?
In other news, market analyst with username <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/egragcrypto/status/1867831621321400667″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener nofollow”>supported his prediction for bitcoin to reach $176,000 in this current bull cycle. Using Fibonacci levels to identify potential support and resistance levels, Egrag crypto previously released this price forecast ahead of bitcoin's November price rally.
With the inaugural cryptocurrency now at $101,000, the analyst predicts that btc will reach its first price target at $105,000, opening the floor for a price rise to $130,000. Thereafter, bitcoin is expected to rise to $176,000, which may form the local peak of this bull cycle. Interestingly, Egrag has also predicted the next bear market target, indicating that btc could fall between $33,000 and $44,600, at the end of this bullish cycle.
At the time of writing, btc is trading at $101,870, reflecting a 1.56% gain over the past seven days. Meanwhile, the asset's trading volume dropped by 36.10% and is valued at $37.44 billion.
Featured image from Bloomberg News, chart from Tradingview
